The Beifong chronicles
by Dalamis
Summary: I always wanted to read about the Beifong family. And no story covered quite what I thought. And so I decided to give it a try. It's simple chronicles about Toph, Lin and Suyin. There no time frame or linear storytelling and thus the chronicles principles. **Welcome to the flying-boar family**. Chap 16 is up: Sokka's passing.
1. The Desert - Suyin

I always wanted to read about the Bei Fong family. And no story covered quite what I thought. And so I decided to give it a try. It's simply chronicles about all the Bei Fong from Toph to Suyin and her family to Lin. There no time frame or linear storytelling and thus the chronicles principles. ^^ Have fun readers.

Welcome to the flying-boar family.

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><p>The dessert was amazing. She had heard rumors of its magnificence views, dunes and such, but never had she imagined that.<p>

Of all she could see in front of the, the most impressive thing she noticed was the sandbender far away, surfing in the solf sand under him. He was one with the element and Suyin felt inspire and envious of his talent, its freedom.

She imagined herself with the same abilities, sure her mother had shown her a couple of great sandbending forms, but Suyin had never really listened to her mother lesson. Or rather, she had never fully used her potential, preferring to hang up with her friends in Republic city much to her sister frustration.

With the recent exodus she had to take, it had left her with no choice really. Staying with her grandparents was not an option. The Bei Fong was not known to be fun folk. Tradition and boredom was their cup of tea and the young bender was not going to be caged by her grandparents. Therefore at the first occasion, she had left the domain and went for adventure. Leaving behind a small note to tell her grandparents what was her plan or the lack of.

Freedom was something she craved. She did not find happiness in Repuplic City. Her mother was never really at home and her sister was miss Perfection in the eyes of their mother or so thought Suyin. She did not find what she sought in the sea with the pirates or with de circus. There was no place to be accomplished for Suyin. She had travel ever since. Looking for happiness, for something to fill the emptiness she felt constantly.

In front of her the sandbender disappeared probably at the bottom of the sand dune he had ride on his surfboard. She could not find him with her seismic sense but she deduced he had finished his course at the bottom of the giant dune.

Suyin went in his direction knowing that the answers laid in the mysteries of the desert.

Soon she reached the sandbender. He kindly ignored her and her attempt to socialize. He really wasn't going to give her the easy going. And so, like mother like daughter, she stubbornly staid in his way, making sure she was right where he would pass with his board. She had her fun in this little fight of the wills. From bending the sand right under his feet, to creating jumps for him to landed she made sure he couldn't ignore her. They had that little game until he was pissed with her and gave her acknowledgement of her presence. Boy, she knew how to be annoying.

''Yes'', he said. His voice, she noticed, was annoyed.

''Hi, hello I'm Suyin'' she replied like nothing had happened.

She assumed she had won that fight.

''I really was impressed by your bending and your skills and thought you could show me how to do it. I'm already a sandbender so all you have to do really is to show me how you do it. It will only take five minutes.''

On that the man left her and went on with his life. He had no time to loose with a tourist who didn't know the way of the desert. All she was skill nothing in her. The way of nomad was not freely or easily gained.

''Please, Suyin she insisted. I made this entire trip and I would hate to have done for nothing. The cities bore me. I don't seem to find my place in it. Buildings, so many people and nobody to listen to each other. I'm bored. Mans have played too much with the earth, it's not pure anymore. We have tamed it to make buildings, to make city, we have shaped it the way we wanted and we didn't ask anything to anyone.''

''I ask not for the skills but for the ways.''

Traveling had changed her from a young angst teen to a full grown woman with a bit of wisdom and a lot to learn.

The man turn on his heel. Had he heard what she had said? She had awakened. He would who her perhaps.

''Fine, I will show you. But put these on first. The sand will damage your eyes and soon you will be blind. I'm sure you don't want that''.

And Suyin was about to replied that there was nothing bad about blindness since her mother could deal with it with so much ease. But seeing the man was not to be humored, she left the topic dead and put the protective glasses on her nose and followed the stranger in the heart of the desert.

The desert unbound its treasure in time. Suyin had learned many secrets. The man had been kind to her. And like her mother and her sister, knew how to play the game. Appear tough. Be a wall, inaccessible. But once she got the know him, she started to like him, and him her. He was named Juni and was the son chief.

The Desert clan was a nomad one. And Suyin was the first outsider to set foot in their improvised camp.

It had taken a while for her to really settle in the Clan since she was not that welcome. The Chief had nearly banned his son for his lack of thinking when he had brought Su along. In fact, the whole Clan hadn't talk Juni for two days. After which they rethink the problem and decided to ignore Su.

That wasn't better in anyway. But at least Juni had regained his place in his Clan. The members incapable to no talk to one of their own for more than two days.

As for Su she had no taken to hard the way they treated her. Sure she was pissed to be snubbed but she knew better than to star hostilities. Her mother had taught one thing she'd never forget. Always look talk, proud and sure of what you're doing. Whatever it takes, make sure the others know where your loyalty lies. Always look in control. And so Suyin had not let the hard words go to her head.

Her heart however couldn't take all that detachment. And it pained her to fight the urge to reply, to strike back. But, she was a Bei Fong and knew better. No pain no gain.

She proved them wrong she learned very fast their ways of living. The where like the Sand. Free carried by and with the wind. Like a delicate dance. But like the sand, altogether, the whole clan united, nobody stood a chance. Like a Sandstorm, all the members knew how to chase to occasional desert thieves and others mild criminals. Like the sand both soft, smooth almost and hard has the rock.

Suyin understood how free they were with so few possession to link them to the earth. They were freer than any man she had met that had pretended to be free. Pirates where not has free. They were limited by the boat, by the laws of the sea. Circus people were not free either has their lives were guides by their customers happy or angry. Bored or impress.

But in the desert, there was no one to look up to, no one to judge you. Only the sky. The members of the Desert clan had understood the ways of the Desert and were living by its telling. A freedom guided by an old wise philosophy.

Yet the freedom was exhilarating. What was there to do with that much space, that much liberty? One night around the bonfire, Su had realised that like Sand, smooth when tenderly caress and harsh when the sandstorm hit.

Their ways of living was a revelation for Suyin. She had looked for so many years to fulfill her heart. And nothing she had done had made things right. Being a jerk to her sister, doing small shoplifting had not sooth her empty heart.

Yet in the middle of nowhere, she felt. She was. She exited. The sky was beautiful. There was no light to veil the stars and Suyin had learnt to appreciate those little moments.

As for the Desert Clan, she stayed with them almost a year before leaving one night without a warning or a goodbye to those who had welcomed her in there heart. She had made friends there. She had seen what Clan were. They were Families. And hers was not in the Desert anymore, but elsewhere. And so she left knowing that they would understand why she had gone with the wind.

Like a grain of sand dancing with the wind, carried away to another place, a better place, she hoped.


	2. The Trial - Toph

The trial was about to begin. Toph was on the east side of the court. She wasn't there to testify against the man. He had done terrible things but never had she been the victims. She had always arrived too late on the scene. And his victims where always to shaken up to talk afterward.

It had been hard for the Chief of police to capture the most elusive man of Republic city. The defense had no solid argument and Toph knew it. He would again walk free from this trial. One of many the man had endured. In fact, he had always been release because the police, the courtman had no other choice because they could not put their finger on solid proof.

She was edgy that day especially because Sokka was going to give the Verdict this time. They all had aged. But to see the Sokka so serious, or rather sense him so stress, so stiff, it surprised the Earthbender. He never seemed tense. He was always so sure about himself lately. The war had changed him. Like everyone else in fact. Toph had passed from Blind Bandit to Chief of Police, and mother. A big change.

But kicking buts of triad members was a great job as far as she was concerned. It gave her opportunities to see actions, to be useful and to brag from time to time about how good she really was as ''the greatest earthbender ''. And it gave her excuses to meet Sokka more often.

Then people started to argue about the testimonies. Blah-blah-blah. Toph thought. Again, Yakone would walk out of the trial a free man. She wondered for a second if the lawyer was as stupid as he sounded.

Anyway, she refocused her attention to the trial. Enough with Meat-head already. It had begun.

''… will now deliver the verdict. ''

''In my years I have encounter people born with rare and unique abilities, why I once bested a man with my trusty boomerang who was able to firebend with his mind''.

He paused.

''Why, even metalbending was considered impossible for all our history until our esteemed chief of police, Toph Bei Fong, single-handedly developed the skill''.

''…''

She wasn't listened to the trial. She was focused on Yakone. Any movement on his part, she would react. Republic City didn't need him one the street and he was tired of chasing his ghost. Not that she told anyone or let it show. She was hard as rock and remained strong. But even she couldn't lie to herself about this one. Yakone had pull a lot of juice out of the police force.

''…guilty of all charge and sentenced him to a life in prison'' said Sokka.

Then something change. She couldn't see everything but she sensed something was wrong. People started to growl. First there was Sokka. He seemed in pain. His heartbeat was elevated. She sensed Yakone was now standing and laughing, a deep evil laugh.

She bent her metal cables to grab whole of Yakone but it was already too late. Her feet left the comforting floor and suddenly, the world became black. There was nothing to feel. She was in the air like a puppet and Yakone was the puppet master. She couldn't do a thing against it. All she could do was to focus on her breathing. She tried to fight it but it was so strong. ''Nobody uses Toph Bei Fong'' she thought.

She could hear Aang mumbling something about justice but all she could make was dull sounds. The metal suit she was wearing became so heavy with no one to metalbend it, it did not follow her involuntary movements as well as it would have if she had metal bend the suit. So her arm twisted it this awkward position, she reached for the key cuffs her second in command was holding. He was bloodbent, she could hear its shallow breathing.

Her feet were hanging a few inches from the grounds, lifeless. She probably looked like a cadaver with her body in the air and her dead eyes. The last time she had felt that much lost and hopeless and scared, was that time when she, Sokka and Suki had fought the fire nation airships. There too she had hanged in the void below her and waited for the end. The feeling was the same. She didn't know if Yakone was going to kill them all.

Yakone brought her so close she could feel him. And yet she was unable to release herself form his grip. He made her put the key in the hole and the next second, she heard a loud thud. The cuff were logically on the floor by now. Then she heard another loud thud. It was her. She hit the floor hard, her senses mixed up, she couldn't see clearly. She did felt the whole rooms falling under her. Everybody in the rooms seemed under his spell. That the last thing the chief grasped before losing consciousness, was her metal suit pinning her to the ground below her, too heavy for her hurt body to move whatsoever with or without bending.

What surprised her most when she awakened was the weight of her entire body. Wow it was heavy, and numb, and painful. She could barely make sense of what was happening around her. She tried to move her feet so she could touch the floor, but no motion seemed possible at this point. All she could do was to wait for someone aka Sokka to help her out.

It was every bit like that Sozin comet day. She was helpless and Sokka protected her. And she both hated it, to be weak. But at the same time something inside her liked it. Toph being Toph, she refused to feel those feeling, to acknowledge them even.

So seconds passed by has the people in the room became to move again, sound of life at last. Groaning for the most part, but at least nobody had been killed by Yakone.

She finally was able to move. She moved her dead weight has slow has possible. Her body was still shaken up by the even. Her seismic sense was also coming back. The forms around her started to take shape. She could see almost half the room clearly. But she could feel Aang. Where was he? She raised up it a split second and regretted it. The pain when all through her spine, but she didn't faint. And her metalbending techniques not all back, the suit decided to stay immobile. She metalbended it so it followed her movements. Then she realise how in pain she really was. Standing there trying to see again, she felt all her body. Her shoulder would be sore for a couple af days at least. She could feel of much Yakone had forced it to move in a bizarre angle. That explained the hard time she had now to bend anything. Her body was all tense, anticipating another attack that would never come. Her head was about to exploded. The bloodbender had deprived it from blood not long enough to do damage but long enough for a bad headache. One of those you normally have when hung up. Still she felt sicker by the minute.

Finally her seismic sense reached the ended of the room, where Sokka was supposed to be, but he was nowhere to be sense.

Where was he, and Anng. Her body started to be cooperative enough for her to move around without the risk of collapsing. So she moved around ever so slowly, to not bump in people or walls of stuff in general. She head in the direction of what she perceived to be her second in command and asked what the state of thing was.

Used to his Chief demands, he described to her the events with has much details has he could remember.

It was very close to what Toph had pull together. Bloodbending the entire room, he was even greater than she had guessed. The police officer then described how Aang had chased him and how Sokka not far behind had follow him. He could tell anything else since nor Sokka nor Aang had come back.

He had just finised his retelling that the two men arrived. They were still a bit blur to Toph but she could recognised them anyway.

''You have finished your errands, maybe now you tell the blind girl what his happening with her prisoner?'' she asked.

''Toph, you're ok, I was worried the way he bended you…''

''Pfft'' was the only sound that came through her lips. ''Again, what happened?'' She teased them like they were fifteen again.

''Yakone is not a problem anymore'' said Ang. ''I took his bending away, for good''.

She was truly relief, yet she let no emotion pass her impenetrable tower of steel. Her face did not betray her and she look like she always looked, not bothered by anyway thing, strong.

Aang retold her what had happened outside, in the street with the occasional bit from Sokka. Apparently, Aang had almost died and Sokka couldn't have done a thing about it. Anyway, it didn't take place this way, so all was well.

With that, Aang went back to Air temple Island probably exhausted , while Sokka made a statement for the press and Toph dealt with the now non-bender Yakone.

Her officers brought the prisoner back to his small cell, waiting for the transfer to the real prison, where he would rejoin all the gang members, allies and foes. With a little luck, Toph thought, they will deal with him the way she would have if she could have.

She went home to change. Her cloths were probably dirty and her armor was heavy on her shoulders. She removed it, not easily and suddenly felt lighter. She put on a hoodie and a black pant. Something confy, yet probably ugly. She didn't care. Her day had been a long one and she didn't feel like dressing like a high rank society lady. She never had, but today was especially true.

She tried to relax her shoulder and upper torso but nothing seem to help. Well, like all injuries, it would pass. She was tough.

She sighed. That day had been a long day. Lin was waiting for her at Katara's, probably doing some mischiefs with her kids. Her girl was unpredictable.


	3. Shadowed - Lin

Hello peep's you might not have noticed it yet, but English is no my first language. So if someone want to correct my text, or help me in anyway, please say so.

You will have to excuse me for my basic English, no fancy words here. Just a normal who like Korra an d Aang.

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><p>The Chief of police had retired. It had come as a surprise to everyone. Why quitting now. The Triad weren't under control. The city wasn't safer any time soon.<p>

But one day, she just had just vanished. Her daughters didn't even know where she went, or was or might be. They were all baffled. Some peoples had thought that she had been capture, kille,d hurt, hold for ransom. She had put a lot of criminals in Republic City's prison. Somes were bound to look for revenge.

But her daughters knew. Well, they didn't know for a fact, but they had a feeling.

Lin Bei Fong was the natural Chief to be elected and thus was. Her age was a problem for some. She had earned her badge even if some thought it was all mom's doing. They thought Toph had plan all this, so that her daughter would be the shining star. She let them talked because she knew that it was her role. She had worked harder than anyone to get the badge. She had had to overpass everybody's judgement. She wasn't only Toph's daughter. She had had a lot of pressure to meet up with the expectations created by her last name. Bei Fong. It was both a blessing and a curse. She was proud to be Toph daughter, she was proud to follow her footstep. But it was hard to make them see that she wasn't her mother, not even as good as her in the bending art.

Yet, even with all the fuss of the first days, she had taken control quickly of all the station and she had proved her skills, her leader ship. Not all approved but one reality struck, they were stuck with her, like it or not. And so, the hatred passed. And Chief Bei Fong made a name for herself.

The city had used that instable time well and the Triads had done pretty much what they were good at, making a mess, that and being criminals. And so, Lin's first week had resumed in hunting every one of them, with her team. People that had not judged her, or let her down.

The event of Toph disappearance had made quite the headline. And her successor too.

The truth is, even with her cold grayish eyes and her proud posture, inside, there was turmoil. She felt so angry and lost. Why had her Mother disappeared. She understood well why there was no note. Toph was blind, people tended to forget it. But her own daughter had lived with the reality all to well to ignore it.

She felt betrayed in a way. She didn't understand why she had left without a warning. And she feared for a brief moment that something had happen to her Mother. But she was the greatest earthbender there was and therefore, Lin didn't worry. She knew her mother was safe somewhere else. And Lord Zuko – citizen were scared enough for Zuko to make a statement – had said so in a council meeting where she had been invited to assure its safety.

With all the pride she showed, in her head and heart, all she could feel was betrayed. It was just unfair. Her mother was all there was in Lin's life. Even with all the drama there was at home. With Tenzin she had pushed away and her sister she hadn't seen in many years. She had nothing in this City. No love, no interest. No link to anyone in particular. Sure she had her loyal officers. She still had Katara, Zuko. But they were so busy being who they were. There was not time for mere girl lost with her thoughts. She considered herself ordinary. She hadn't done anything to shine.

And so, Lin turned herself to the only thing she did have at heart, her job. The city, its safeness. Her duties were to Republic City and she would honor it. Without knowing it, she was following the same footstep her mother took, and the same path she hated.

Hatred was all there was toward Republic city. They had stole her mom. She was alway so busy with them, and never there for her. And let's not talk about her father. Lin both hated the topic and ''taboo-ed'' it. She didn't talk about, maybe to make it less real.

No more self-pity, her mother would not have permitted it. Be hard as rock like she used to say. Free like the earth. Roam like a bagermole and get on with your life.

But more importantly, no more ''mom's shadow''.


	4. Mirrors - Lin and Suyin

Mirrors – Lin and Suyin

Coming to Zaofu, the sister's reunion didn't go as smoothly as hoped. Here's my take on the psychological evolution.

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><p>The morning was chill. The steel domes were brought down like each morning, letting the sun enlighten Zaofu city. The metal clan was waking up and the guards started their morning routine. Making sure the city was safe and sound. The citizen of Zaofu started their chores. Taking care of the city was of the upmost importance. Some were cleaning it. Others were preparing the dance show. Some were even practicing metalbending, even this early in the morning.<p>

Suyin, the matriarch of the Metal Clan was starting her day. She couldn't believe her sister – well, half-sister really – was in Zaofu. It was the young Avatar that had brought her to the city. The Avatar and her friends were there for Opal, her daughter, newfound Airbender. Suyin had mixed feeling about this. She knew at some point, Tenzin would want to see her, at Air Temple Island. Or at some other temples Aang used to tell story about when she was at his home, while her mom worked.

She knew this was probably best for her daughter but, saying goodbye was hard. She would keep Opal near her as long as she could. But in heart mother's heart, she knew at some point, she would have to let go. But not now, it was too soon. She was just about to reunite with her own sister. Then, her family would be whole. The Avatar wasn't going to take Opal she decided.

She was watching herself in the mirror while brushing her messy hair, family inherited. How would Lin deal with all of it? She had not seen her in 20 years. Still, with all this time passed by, Su could tell her sister was still the same: still arrogant and lonely. Of course she was lonely with that attitude, she thought. She was cold and didn't let anybody get close and personal. Since the Tenzin episode, Lin had not unearthed her heart and she remained like metal, cold and hard. Nothing melted her.

Suyin had seen Lin. In fact, she would never have known Lin was in her City, if it wasn't for her Truth seer, Aiwei. He was the one to tell her the Avatar had lied and that obliged the young girl to reveal Lin's presence.

Suyin was both glad and disappointed. Glad that her sister had made the trip even if she hadn't actually set foot in the City. And disappointed that she had not made that step.

It was mixed feeling that loomed over the soon to happen reunion.

Lin had made a scene. She had started this fuss, this fight. And she was still lingering on old conflicts. She hadn't change a bit. She had still that look on her face when looking at Suyin. That disgusted look. This superior air she took. She was being the ''adult''.

Lin had always looked for Lin when they were younger. With their mother working so much, Lin had step up and made sure her sister wasn't harmed in anyway. But as the years past, Lin also followed her mom's footstep. And even when they were both, Lin and her mom, not there, Suyin was always watched somehow.

Their mother had gave them so much freedom. ''Find your happiness'' kind of education. And that had brought the sister to a rift. One was like her mother more or so. Straight, followed the law to the coma. The other, Su, was the rebel always looking for trouble. She always seemed to stay in line whatsoever but she had crossed a point of no return when she had helped her friends do small business for the Terra Triad. At this point, Lin and Suyin were too far one another to reconcile. Toph had said the final verdict, and Suyin was to leave the city for the Bei Fong estate.

Lin and Su had not seemed one another from that moment on.

Now, Suyin was with her sister. To say it was tensed was the least of it. In fact, there probably was an inner bomb about to happen. Lin was mean. There was no other way to say it. She was mean to Opal, to her city, to her citizen. One guard had actually been scared by her jumpy comment about their work.

But Suyin had not helped. Well, in the beginning of their stay, she had try to open her sister heart, but as hours became days, she understood her sister wasn't about to forgive. And she made it pretty clear; she wanted to stay as far as possible from this place.

Suyin felt jealousy. Lin was envious maybe of her wealth. Of her family perhaps. She wouldn't know.

At some point, while Su was showing the avatar some metalbending moves, Lin a came by the practice field and had started a fight. Yielding was the appropriate word to say. She was so angry. Frustrated. She stood tall. And Su instead of calming her sister had put oil to the fire. She knew her sister wouldn't talk. She never talked. Like their mom, she was not good with words. And so Suyin said something to make her angry, maybe by fighting each other's, they would find peace.

Talking about Tenzin was the way to make her go berserk. She knew how Lin had really felt about it and how she had let no emotion show. She teased her hard about that Tenzin comment. And the earth underneath them both became turmoil of unfelt emotions from Lin, from Suyin.

The fight stood has the argument they never had. Steel and earth flew by. The Avatar, Suyin saw, was about to interfere. But Bolin had stopped her.

Suyin and Lin were fighting, not paying attention to the now growing crowd. Nobody knew what was going.

Lin had a lot of repress feeling to fight like she was. She was so deep in her emotions that she didn't even notice Opal stopping both of them with Airbending. Lin flew to the ground and while she tried to regain her earthbender stance, she felt weak and her world became darkness. Bliss.

Korra had caught her, thanks the spirits. The Chief of police had been brought to her room where a healer had made sure she was alright. The acupuncture man had made a great progress nonetheless.

There was nothing more to do for Suyin. She had to wait for Lin to wake up, and maybe hope she had come to her senses in this fight. To wait and see.

.

Lin woke up. She felt like she woke from a very long dream. Fog in her vision was gone. The acupuncture man had done a poor job so poor he had made worse her sickness. Lin had always been good had denial. And she was denying that the needles had made their ways to her blocked and stubborn mind. She was Toph daughter through and through. And so, she had inherited the character of the Bei Fong.

When she first learned they were setting sail to Suyin's city, she wanted it off. But her responsibilities had tied her to this trip. She didn't want to be there nor let Su she was in her city.

Suyin had grown up. It was a fact. She was a important woman in her field of work. She had created her Clan. In some way Lin was jealous, not that she allowed herself to feel it. It was a bit of self pity as well. How come she had the pretty life. It was unfair. In her eyes, Lin had work her way out to make a good living, to be good too. To impress her mom at first, to make a difference when she understood what her destiny was.

Suyin had a family, a big one,5 kids and a loving husband. A City to herself. A matriarch, a artist. Lin couldn't lie to herself, her half-sister had had more success than her.

She seemed happier too. Lin envied her. She had to work hard every day to make ends meet. She was always fighting mild criminals. There was no place for family in _her_ life. No place for happiness either. She didn't allow herself to be happy. She hold grudge on so many things her mind was always angry. Always looking for some relief. But she couldn't find it. There was no ways Lin Bei Fong was going to be at peace with her self.

She was now wide awake and she felt…empty. But strangely calm. She was at peace. For a brief moment, Chief Bei Fong wasn't the lonely bitter woman but an accomplish one. She was whole again.

She look beside her bed. Her armor laid on a chair. It had been place with upmost respect by herself a few days ago. She was proud of her job. Even if she had no time for fun or family. Her mother had never been impressed by her efforts, but Lin had learnt with time to not look for her mother's approval. She'd never received it. And she had taken a resolution, she didn't need it. Much to her sister sorrow. Suyin had never ceased to get her mother attention. Attempts after attempts, she'd never stop. Lin at let go.

She took the clothes place for her on a chair nearby, and got dress like a Zaofu Citizen. She looked at herself in the mirror. It felt weird to wear that kind of cloth. It was much lighter than her metal suit.

In fact, she felt much lighter. She wasn't heavly burden anymore. Her conflicts had found resolution and so, she had find peace within the steel walls of the city she had hated the most.

Now, she looked at the city in a brand new perceptive. Maybe Korra had been right to force her to come to the city that had brought more good than bad.

Since she was groaning at every other words, people talked to her, her nephews, her niece….Oh right Opal. She had to make it up to her. She had been plain mean with the girl. Too deep in her hatred to see of much the young one was really genuinely happy to see her aunt. So she stepped on her too big of an ego for one time in her life and went to apologies.

Maybe there was hope that Lin Bei Fong wasn't the big heartless woman she showed the world after all.


	5. The Beifong - Toph

_I always wondered how she found those bagermole in her childhood, with so many guard on the ground. And how the little fragile girl became the Blind Bandit. _

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><p>The Beifong had one terrible secret. Within the walls of the domain, there was much secrecy. They had a daughter. Only the few guards, and themselves, knew about the poor girl with no friend.<p>

They had a bending teacher. He would show Toph basic forms of Earthbending since she was an earthbender.

As she grew older, she ask form more difficult form to learn, but never the teacher allowed her to step up her game. She was stuck at the base with no hope to get better at it. That is, if she followed the rules.

Toph had been raised to be a fragile little girl. Because of her blindness, her parents had never seen her a legitimate heir. She was lonely. Nobody knew of her existence. The only friend she had was two or three more friendly guards who would disobeys slightly the orders they had and play with the girl. They would play hide and seek with her in the garden. While one play with the blind girl, the others would keep watch to make sure nobody knew.

The guard would count to ten and then go look for Toph. She did hide well. And from time to time, the guard had to forfeit much to his demise toward the others guards who made fun of him, with lady Toph of course. When her parents were around, everybody played the masquerade game and no one mentioned those rare moment of joy in the garden. This way, Toph had a bit of normal life.

One day, the guards were playing the hide and seek game. But none of them could find her. Oh, they were in big troubles. What if she was injured? They started to look for her on all the propriety, hoping no one would notice their strange behaviors. And no one would ask questions. Thankfully the Beifong were at a political meeting somewhere in the high circles of the earth Kingdom. So that left them some time to figure out where Toph was without being sacked that is.

The truth is, she ran far away, or what she perceived to be far. She was bored of that stupid game that used to make her laughed. Sure the first times, it was funny, but it became lame very quickly. And the guards didn't bother to ask her opinion on the said game. They just assumed, like everyone else, what she wanted, instead of simply asking. She followed what she had been taught. Follow the road, feel the earth under her feet, basic skills. And so, she walked. She had mixed feeling about that small trip of hers. One on hand, she was free. On the other, she was lost and had hurt her parents. She could decide what to feel in the end. So she pushed them away.

She eventually got really lost. She ended up in what she thought to be a wood or a cavern. She couldn't tell. The ground was not familiar and she could not touch something she recognised. The walls were cold and humid. They were made of some sort of rock. She had heard her father do some real bending. She had only seen the basic with her boring instruction who pampered her way to much.

There was one here. She could try bending for real maybe. The idea was temping but on the other and, what if she made a rumble and smashed her tiny body under it. Not good.

So she sat on the ground hoping something would happen. Wait and listen. And she listened. She heard the wind enter the cavern. Sit made a _shoosh_ kind of sound. Somewhere in front of her, there were droplets of water going down a stalactite and in a small pond. The air smelled earthy. It was dry and dirty. There was clearly some kind of insect. One tried to bite her but she slammed it before it could do it. Then suddenly, as she was quietly in the entry of the cavern, she heard noise of creatures. They were roaring. And as she senses the vibrations from the earth, she could they were big. Was she supposed to be afraid? Toph feared no one. Yes she was already witty and determined.

She let the creature approach. Anyway there was nothing she could do. Running was out of the question. She would trip over some rock and injure herself.

The creatures smelled her. Their nose was big and moist. They had dirt on top of it. And the fur was no smooth. It was like sandpaper only less abrasive. It had a tick shield of earth around its body. They moved the rock easily as the passed by Toph. They smelled her and made her one of their own. They were bagermole. They fitted the description her mom had told her in one of her goodnight story when she was younger.

They waited Toph, they cared for her in a sense only she could relate. They showed her how to move in a world with no light. And they showed her how to live in a world not made for her. It was a revelation. Earthbending was her salvation in her boring life.

The way they coped with their blindness was perfect for Toph. She understood it fast enough to move around the entry of the cavern without trouble. Soon, she sensed the entire cavern. It ran deep in the mountain side. Wow it was incredibly to «see» at last. Everybody had tried to tell her how to get along in a world she could not understand. Yet, when she met the bagermole, it couldn't be clearer. They used ways she understood. They didn't talk of colors, distances, deepness or anything related to the perception of the eye.

The guards eventually found lady Toph still sitting at the entry of the cavern. The bagermole had left her here where her humans would find and put her to safety. Caverns were not meant for baby tiny humans. But with the end of this adventure, Toph saw the world. She was the three guards. She could imagine their worried faces. Their heartbeats were at their maximum.

They carried her home. She wasn't going to walk all the way back to the domain; it was too hard, too far for her little feet. And for once, she let them carried her without a word. When the guards asked her what had happened she lied and said she hadn't felt the end of the domain and got lost after that. When asked why she was so dirty, she said she fell. No one question her version. The guards were sacked. Not because they played games, no one did tell that part of the story, but because Mister Beifong had notice her daughter was missing and nobody had told him. When Toph was back he said to her that he would never leave her out of his sight, ever. He had been so scared for her little girl. He loved her so much.

''So much it hurt'' She thought and never said.

But as the years passed, little became the young teenager. Guards still continued to entertain her, but it was the same after her runaway. She thought they did it because they pitied her, like everybody else as a matter of fact. And she didn't want to be pitied. She wanted to be taken seriously. But her parents didn't listen to her. They considered her too fragile to take decision on her own or too blind to understand the dangerous world they lived in.

One day bored out her mind and frustrated by a diner conversation turning around Toph future, she ran away. For good. How could they think she wanted to be an ordinary midwife to some rich guy who couldn't care less who she really was? Toph understood that, her family was among the richest of the earth kingdom. Of course some idiot was bound to want to marry her when she was old enough. He had a lot to gain. He could take the imperfections of deal, like the blind wife. Yes, as young as she was, she understood those adult concepts. And she hated every bit of it. Aristocracy made her sick. How could people talk about other people as if they were mere objects? Well Toph Beifong was about to prove she wasn't the poor blind girl her family thought she was.

Thus the Blind Bandit was born. What a perfect name. She grew an attitude. She became sassy and threw a lot of wit. Every now and then, she would escape her family's watch, the guard's watch – she had learn the patterns by heart. She would go to Earth Rumble Six, where she legitimately kicked butt of adults twice her size. But she had the best earthbender teachers. With the money she made in those events, she would buy stuff she wanted. Not what her precious family thought she wanted.

Still at eleven, nearly twelve years old, her opinion was still ignored. She couldn't want something in this house that was her prison. She had to hope someone would read her mind and get her what she wanted. She couldn't decide anything: to her haircut to her clothes. She was blind how was she going to choose those.

Her teacher, on her father's demand, taught her more advance bending. She faked being to slow learning type in the process. The illusion had to be perfect to be believed. No one suspected her secret life. She was proud to be sacred champion of the Ring. But she felt both regrets and sadness. She had betrayed her family's ''trust''. She wondered if her dad would be proud or mad about her exploit as a fighter. As she asked herself the question, she knew he was going to be disappointed. She wasn't a lady like she was supposed to be. She was tomboy who liked to fight.

She lived the double-life. It provided her emotions she ignored. It hurt less. And she concentrated her heart on the cheering crowds.

She was caught between a rock and hard place. If she told her father about the belt she won, he would tighten the watch over her. She had escaped the guards watch for three month now.

The dilemma was killing her slowly. Between her passion and her family stood a hole. They were not listening to anything she said. Never. It was to think they were deaf. And she was sick of it. But she still couldn't let go of her family. They loved her so much. And she loved them so much. Their stubbornness was pushing her away and her pride was the finisher, the endgame.

When the Avatar showed up in her life, she was both relieved and put under great pressure. She wanted to go with her newfound friends, but to leave her house without her parents support was too much too asked of her.

It was her dad's reaction that drove her away in the end. How could he think he wasn't strict enough? He hadn't protected her enough. She had fought like six guys or something. How could he not see how she wasn't who he wanted her to be? He was the blind one. Her whole family was blind to her demands, her needs. And she was sick of it. Sick of being someone she was not. She felt great betrayal that night. Her own family didn't listen to her. They didn't want to see the real her. The wanted the puppet the had raised for so many years. Nobility wasn't for her. Rules either. She wanted freedom.

And so, she left on the bitter sour note. There were no more dilemmas to feel, just her needs, herself.

All she had to do now was to grab her destiny.

* * *

><p>What should I tackle next? R&amp;R.<p> 


	6. Turning Tides - Lin

A bit of lost friendship. small Linzin.

* * *

><p>The sky bison flew away. The Island was invaded by Amon henchmen. There were no questions, everyone needed to flee it, as fast as possible. As Korra and her group went in the city, Tenzin and his family went to another temple. There, they would be safe, out of the reach of Amon.<p>

Korra, Mako, Bolin and Asumi ran away on Naga,s back as the White Lotus guard stayed behind, sacrificing themselves to safe the youngsters. They would be caught by the Chi blockers sooner or later and rid of their bending. But they knew the price and they also knew to whom they had pledge allegiance.

The young disappeared from the horizon as Lin and Tenzin rode Oogie's back. They were with a ''just gave birth to a baby'' woman and three kids. Two against two airships. The odes were not in their favor and they knew it. Oogie didn't fly fast enough and the enemy was gaining on them. The kids were quiet. They were afraid and they were right. They were not going to get far. The wait as the enemy approached was unbearable. They were helpless and hopeless.

As Tenzin wondered how they were going to make it, he saw from the corner how his eye Lin standing up to see how fast they were going to be prisoner.

Tenzin was already glad Lin was with him. Deep inside, he missed his time with the former Chief. She was hard but she had her qualities and Tenzin had founded them. He missed his time with her as kids. Toph was not a great mother. He hated to even think that, but there was no mistake in the statement. She was never there. She was always too busy fighting crimes, it made her feel like the old days with Aang and the others. Tenzin couldn't old the grudge against Toph because he knew she was doing all this for their future. But Lin had not seen it this way. And their quarrel had eventually multiplied. Her nature was too much for him. He was a kind spirit. Like his father and Lin's tough acting drove them away. He eventually ended things with her and the storm that had followed ….was to remember. Never in his young life had he witness how strong her bendeing really was. She had reacted exactly like he a predicted. She had bended everything out of there place. And in a way, he was impress she had stayed in control enough to keep everyone out of harm. Well no one was hurt per say. The only one hurt was Lin.

With time, they had got on with it. In a manner of speaking. They had to work with each other in their aldult life and so, they had agreed without really speaking of it, to be adult and to deal with it. Lin was now cold and distant. She didn't like him putting his nose in her things. And Tenzin didn't like when the Chief of police put hers in his political business. They were as distant as they could be, yet seeing each other every now and then.

He missed their old relation where they were so close.

With Amon coming to the new age, Lin had step up her game and protected the city. Like Tenzin, Republic City was her priority.

It was when she insisted to stay with while he was away that he recognized her old friend. She was there for him, for his family. She hadn't forgotten their fight, or their relation, but she was able to put it on hold to protect a cultural heritage: The new Air Nation, Tenzin's family.

And now, she was there at the turning of tides.

He had focus so much on that moment he had forgotten what perilous moment he was in. With his kids and all. Lin standing up. Yes that right. That what had brought the memory to him. Her loyalty and his lost love for her.

'' … Don't turn back''

''Lin what are you doing?''

And just like that, without a warning she jumped out of the bison's back.

''_What are you doing?''_

''_Saving your family''_ She thought.

She didn't have second thoughts about it. She knew very well her duties. She knew where her heart laid. Tenzin might be just a friend now, but he was still one of her dearest friend. He had been with her for a long episode of her younger life. She was glad she knew him so well.

She had stayed by his side to honor that lost relationship. And she had leave without regrets either.

No turning back now.

And so she jumped on the first air ship and opened it like at thin can. It stood no chance against the Metal Bender. She gave everything she had. Nothing was too small to overlook. Giving an escape route to Tenzin was her priority. And she would do anything to succeed.

The second ship was just too far to jump on and she used a propeller to help her make it to safety. The second ship was ripped open like the other one. But as Lin as about to destroy it, Amon's lieutenant open the hatch. The fight was rough and Lin knew electricity against metal was not in her favor. Her armor would be her lost. The lieutenant threw his electric cable and all went black.

When she woke up, she was bonded with a rope of some sort and kneeling in front of the very man she had vowed to overthrow of power. She showed no fear. Lin Beifong wasn't going to show weakness. Her pride wasn't all that bad after all. She stood there, as straight as she could be in her metal armor, more rigid than she hoped. When Amon asked her where everybody was, she show her mind was of steel. No one was going to break her stance or her spirit. She wasn't going to give up any information to the so call revolution leader.

When Amon put his hands on her for head and her heart, she had a last thought for Tenzin whom she had save by sacrificing the very thing that defined her, her bending. She had been raised to be the next greatest Earthbender. But instead, she laid on the cold hard ground, the rain pouring.

She couldn't feel connexion to the earth, she couldn't move her armor either. It was heavy. Her body was tire. Been torn of your identity was bound to be painful at some point.

The rain continued. They unbound her. She wasn't a menace anymore. And let her there. They were not worried. They left her in the darkness of the night. They had other things to attend to. And watching a helpless woman try to put a fight wasn't interesting. They went inside one of the nearest building.

And so, she remained there. She turned herself onto her back. The rain on her face helped her figure out the next move. She had to get to Republic city. No self pity. She had made a promise to herself back then and she would respect it.

She stood on her feet, her vision still blurred from the aftermath. She had loose her bending sure but she had put on a fight. She had destroyed to airships in the process and fought three or four guys before getting capture.

Her whole body hurt and standing still was an effort.

It was with great willpower that she made it back to a safe place. Amon's men were every where on the island but some, all the personal departed from it. They were planning the next big coup. The pro-bending arena was going to be the rendezvous that Amon had planned all along. She had to warn Republic City.

And so, without bending, she found her way back home. What now. What was going to happen? Was she going to get her bending back?

She felt lonely. Empty. She couldn't feel the vibrations of the earth. Could senses the linked she had always have?

And for one of those rare moments, Lin let her anger and her sadness flow. She threw everything she had – for the few possession she did have – against the wall in front of her. As for her metal armor, it took a couple of tries before she succeeded in taking it off. She threw it on the floor in a loud clang. Without bending to shape it, it laid motionless on the wooden floor.

She even forgot about Tenzin and her noble act of courage and sacrifice. All she saw was red and black.

She felt as much pain as when she was a kid. When her mom a nearly died at the hand of Yakone. It was fear that took control of her. She didn't feel often her emotions. And she rarely let them out. She refused herself. She had a stoned heart. And so, her reputation preceded her.

But in her tiny apartment, with no one to see, she let all her pain out. Physically and mentally. And for the first since Tenzin broke her earth, she truly cried. Tears of emptiness as her she realised, she would bend no more.

.

In a Swamp far away, Toph let out tears for her oldest girl. So lost.


	7. The Swamp - Toph

The Chief of police had retired. It had come as a surprise to everyone. Why quitting now. The Triad weren't under control. The city wasn't safer any time soon.

Toph Bei Fong came to a realisation. Her role wasn't important. In fact, she was insignificant. Whether it was her, or her daughter, or the spirits themselves, evil would always exist, as good too. That she fought like a bagermole wasn't important. She was nothing in an ocean of madness.

Good and evil were to always exist. She had lived a lot with the Avatar. Aang, Sokka, Katara and later Zuko. They were her first real friends. But as the years passed, she understood one great Truth, worthy of the White Lotus, she wasn't eternal, nor her friends were. She would pass, and the next generation would take matters in their own hands. Aang kids, hers too even Zuko's. They were all given a great destiny. They were the children of the 100 years' war heroes.

Bumi, Kaya and Tenzin were already following their father's footstep. So was Lin. She was starting glimb the rank of the Republic city Police. And she was good. Even if Toph never flattered her ego. Suyin was more of a rebel. But still, Toph let her go. She knew Su would come to her senses. Learned from life and move on. So, as a mother, she didn't do a thing about it. She wasn't worried. Lin on the other hand was. She always looked for her sister. She was always there to make sure she wasn't in deep trouble. And when she was, Lin would come up with some plan to evade it. Su wasn't too happy about it, even if she had to admit, her sister was always there.

Toph had made a choice. A hard one, but she had. Exiling Suyin was one of the hardest choices she had made. But she knew, Republic City wasn't going to help Su find her ways. While LSuyin went away to Toph parents, Lin stayed by her side.

Even if Toph knew deep in her heart, Lin didn't love her or like her, she refused to see it. She didn't want to. Lin was a good kid. And Toph was proud. Pride did run in the family after all. But like rock, Toph never showed how her daughters had changed her life. Nor did she allowed herself to be soft on them. She didn't compliments Lin's vending or her job. Lin with time, learned to never expect it either. And so their relationship moved on. Lin became like her mother in a way. A cop with no social life. She was like her mother, never home. Always working. And without knowing it, she became like her mom.

It saddens Toph to see her daughter so cold. Put she was bad with words and left things the way they were. Lin would find her way alone, like Suyin, like herself. Her girls would learn the hard way.

She left one day, without a notice. She had planned it for a while now, and she waited the right time to do it. Like a earthbender, wait and listened. And she had. One ordinary day, she had left Republic City, the city she had built from pain and sweat. And left to discover the world.

And it's in the most unsuspected place she found peace. The air was moist, the soil was humid. It was a swamp she guest. She had heard stories around the fire from Aang and the rest of the group. On day as they flew by a swamp, a magic thing had brought Aang to go see it. While even Aang wasn't too sure about it, he had decided to follow the signs and landed in the swamp.

Sokka had become emotional. She felt it. His heartbeat showed…sorrow. He talk briefly about a girl Yue and left the circle. He went to sleep he said, but Toph knew he was lying. She let him go without another word and listen to Katara's storytelling.

Katara said that night around the fire, they all had a weird experience in a Swamp. She had seen her dead mother. And Aang had foreseen Toph. Thinking about it, maybe it was no only his future but his future lives. She did meet another avatar in the same swamp. Avatar Korra. But that for another story.

He then described how all the roots were interconnected and how a swampbender had showed him how to channel his energy to feel the world.

When Toph set her foot in the Swamp she realised two things, actually three. She was in THE Foggy swamp. With her seismic sense she could feel the entire thing. And she had found her peace.

It took her a while to get used to feel the whole world, but in time, she had mastered that too. She had never be the type to be spiritual, but in here, it was impossible not to. She was connected to everything and everyone, with a little concentration.

So had left the world because she thought she had no place in it anymore, and had found a place where she wasn't part of the world but could see it every day. It seemed fitted.

She first had to get accustomed to the paths. Even with that roots thing, blindness was her reality. She had got around it for most of her life, but now it seemed meaningless. She had no need to see. She could feel the earth under her. The roots, the wholes, even the water to which she wasn't close. The Swamp was definitely alive.

She created herself a routine. In the morning she sought mushrooms and other comestible thing to eat. She would then walk for a couple of hours remembering old battles or reflecting of the state of the world. When the sun was at his highest, she would go to the Banyan-grove tree.

There she would sit and concentrated on Republic city or any important things happening in the World. That how she knew for the Watertribes civil war or that Suyin was in trouble. That tree was special, she could feel it.

One rainy day she was meditating and somewhere far, she felt emptiness. She let the tree showed her and she heard Lin grief. Somewhere in the world, her daughter was lost. And Toph was too far. Like she had always been. She had never been there for her oldest daughter.

The old Toph was…tenderer. She felt a tear and she let it go. In her young days, she wouldn't have hide it, but with time, she had learned. As she felt her Lin being torn apart by the waterbender Amon, she was taken by sadness deeper than her own. It was her daughter's. She saw Lin getting back to her home, and she witnessed her outburst, how she threw everything against the wall.

But she also felt couples of days later; she felt how the new Avatar had helped Lin. And with that, she smiled to her meditating self. She had never been there for Lin. And Lin had never got over that fact. But at least, with her gone, Lin was at relative harmony.

Toph had seen the world more than most people. But still, she was still searching for her peace. She had found her destiny, she had accomplished it. Now, it was time to settle for the last time.

At last, her life in the Swamp was peaceful.

.

.

.

When an Earthbender stepped in her turf, Toph knew that peaceful life was coming to an end.


	8. Toughen up - Lin, Toph and Suyin

Toughen up – Lin, Suyin, Toph

Peoples looked at Lin and thought how lucky she was to be raised by the greatesat earthbender and esteemed chief of police. She would become an incredible bender and would quickly learn metalbending. But the truth wasn't as pretty.

Toph was never home. And when she was, she was too tired so didn't pay much attention so Lin. When she learned she was pregnant, she tried everything to avoid it. She denied it for most part until her belly started to show up. At this point there was nothing to do. Katara tried to prevent her from working but she ignored her friend and continued to work even with that pregnancy. The father was an ok guy. Nothing extraordinary about him. He cared for Toph the way he could, but he could meet up with her expectations. He needed a wife, someone that was actually there, but Toph was very busy. In the end, they broke up and went their separate ways.

Lin had not the happy childhood people thought. She was a lonely kid. Always in her head. Most of the time when people talked to her she would answer with a one word syllable. With her mom out so much, she found ways to distract her. The time passed so slowly for the kid. Without Toph, Lin would wander the streets. She did the same pattern thing every day. She passed by many merchants. They all talked to her. And she replied to no one. She was too deep in her imaginary world to notice.

Katara took her once in a while with her and the kids on Air Temple Island. Those days were happy days for Lin for someone was taking care of her. Cooking for her and Katara did make awesome lunches. But those day never lasted enough and at the end of the day, she went back to her life with her mom.

Toph always brought her kid home. She picked her up from where she was hanging that day. One day was the merchant area, the other one was Katara's. It was total instability for the kid. She had no stability to relay one. Her mom was far from stable.

Lin learned to predict her mom mood of the night. When she had good days, Lin and her would cook together, well Lin did most of it since Toph was blind, but still was quality time for Lin. She would tell her daughter the crazy day she had. In those time was in fact lucky to have Toph for a mom. She told stories so differently from every one. Talking about details would have missed. But not her mom. She never missed these details. She was so good. In a way, Lin was proud to be a Beifong. She was proud to be Toph legacy. When both of them passed that good time together, Lin would forget her worries.

But in the bad days, Lin learned to not ask question, to not talk, to be as silent as she could. Toph was stubborn and she didn't needed support from anyone even her daughter. When angry about her day, she pushed everyone away. She would ask Katara to take Lin so she could dawdle on how awful her day was. Lin wanted to stay with her mom, but she knew it was better this way. She knew her mom by heart. And she loved too much to upset her.

And slowly that relationship became a rocky as it can be.

Torn between love and hate, Lin could tell where her heart laid. She knew where it should be, but she could deny how she felt. And like mother like daughter, she didn't speak about her feeling. No one had taught her how to express herself so she didn't.

Even with all her flaws and absences, Lin was at the age of adoration and so, she adored her mother without a question.

She matured rapidly because of that situation. And she understood what her life was. She was always to be her mom's shadow. Never good enough for her. Toph rarely express her approval. It was always some mild encouragement. Even if others told her otherwise, told her how good she was, how well behaved she was, Lin didn't listen to them. She wanted her mother to be proud, but it never really came. It was always half-praise. There was no «perfect » in Toph eyes.

Adults talked behind her back. Said how hard she was on her own kid, but she would respond that Lin had to learn to pull her own weight. Her closest friend tried to talk so sense into her but there hit a wall, literally. So they let it go. Some saw how it affected Lin but no one dared defy Toph on the education of her daughter.

When she grew old enough to bend, things got nasty for Lin. Toph was always talking about toughen up. To be able to eventually bend metal, she had to learn to pain and pressure. But Lin was still young and she didn't understand well the relation she had with her mom. She was happy to have time with her mom. At the beginning she was even excited to do something, anything with her mom, but Toph, she understood, was not the caring kind of instructor. She was unbendable. And Lin was about to become like her.

The bending lessons were not a happy time like she hoped. Lin was disappointed but not surprised. Sadly. She felt like a fool. A fool to have hoped her mother would change now that they shared a come interest. And slowly the balance between love and hatred was shattered.

.

When everything couldn't get any better, worse happened. Lin was going to have sister. That precise piece of new was taken with a lot of rage and incomprehension. How when. What. How was Toph able to see men but not her own daughter!? Would her sister not know her father as well.

Suyin came like it was nothing. Her mother seemed unimpressed by the entire event. Good old Toph wasn't going to show weakness. And Suyin became the burden of the Beifong family. Toph had not more time for two kids and Lin was stuck babysitting most of her time. A lithe girl like her couldn't care of a baby, could she? Her thought so.

With all her hatred, Lin still wanted her mom's approval and she took on the responsibility with one goal, prove her mother how worthy she was.

Katara showed Lin how to take care of her tiny sister.

The healer felt deep sadness toward the two kids. How Toph was going to deal with them. When Lin had come it was Katara who had done most of the job because Toph wanted to be back on the streets as soon as she could. And Karata admired her friend's determination but at the same time couldn't approve of it.

When, one of the times she was with the two small children, she talked to Lin. Hers kids were with Aang and they were busy going to whatever valley. Katara had Lin and Su all to herself. It was time she tried to opened up a bit the six years old girl in from of her, holding her sister like it was a treasure.

She tried to talk to Lin about feeling, and expressing them but all she heard back was how Toph thought it was weak to show other what they felt. Katara tried hard to undo the damage, but it was too late. She saw in Lin's eyes how she thought Katara was a fool for thinking it. And so she let it go.

Lin expressed herself about not having a father and how Katara was a great mom. She was jealous even though she didn't admit it to herself. She didn't understand how on earth Katara and Aang were there for their kids even with the busy life they had. Katara was a renown healer and her husband the Avatar. Still they always found time to take care of the three kids.

It was unfair she said one night to Katara. She would never mention it to her mom. She was too scared. And Katara had replied that she was lucky her husband was so helpful and how the air acolytes saved her life on the resort. But little did Katara know how hard the words she had utter hurt Lin.

It changed all of Lin perception of the world. Her mother was doing all she could to make ends meet. Without a husband, it could only be harder. And like that all the hate she gad felt toward her mom went away, deep in the corner of her mind. It wasn't Lin's fault or Toph's. It was all her father doing. Her unhappiness was the result of her fatherless childhood. If he had been there, Toph would have been to settle and take care of her.

When Toph came to take both her kids, Lin hugged her with all her tiny love. From her 6 years old. That's the first thing Lin asked when back home. While Toph was undressing herself to switch to casual wear, Lin asked the question.

'' Who's my father, mom. Was he a jerk?'' She expected her mom to say how he had let her and the family down but it never came. Toph talked about the guy like he was no one in particular. Like she didn't care of his absence. He was some guy she loved but it was over. And Toph didn't give more explanation.

Lin was disappointed and angry. If she couldn't put the responsibility on her dad, who was to blame? Her mom? Was her mom responsible for all her misery? Lin refused to believe it. But at the same time…. No.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Suyin cries. She had to take care of her. Her mom was in the shower. She took Suyin and rocked her. When her mom was out of the shower she took Suyin from her arms and started to cuddle her so softly. Why Lin had never sensed that caring from her mom. And why Suyin had it. What did she do to earn her mother attention? Lin saw red that night, but never told her mom.

When she asked the others adults around they all said Toph had cuddled Lin. She was just so small to remember. And didn't investigate more on the question Lin asked.

The rift between Lin and Suyin grew only deeper with the years. Lin had still the obligation to watch her sister and had the responsibility. Toph was still always not there. Republic city needed her. What about her girls. What did the citizen did for her mom that the two girls didn't do. The loved her much more than any of them. And they help her around with her blindness. Nobody ever did that for her.

Suyin and Lin fought for their mom attention. Lin used her bending abilities to get it – and later her career choice and Suyin did mischiefs to get it. Either of them got it in the end.

Lin was always trying to protect Suyin, much to Su's annoyance. She perceived it to be control. Her sister wanted to control her so she could see her mom more often. Lin and Suyin grew apart and grew up hating each other while also feeling unconditional sibling' love. It was confusing at least. Lin was used to it by now. She both hated and loved her mom. She could do it for Suyin too. It wasn't hard.

But it was tough on Su. She had no practice beforehand. And her sister started with head start. Su loved her sister. She knew Lin loved her even if she never said it. She was so protective, it was frustrating. But she felt hatred toward her most of the time because Lin didn't approve of Su's friends.

When time passed by, Lin mentioned it more and more. And it drove Su crazy. How could she be so mean to her and her friends? She was too young still to see how they were indeed bad seeds and how her sister was trying to avoid her pain later. No all Suyin and Lin knew was how much they hated each other, while loving each other like sisters are supposed to, silently.

.

One day, on one of Katara's watch, Lin had opened up a bit. Katara had left all her kids play leaving Kya in charge, she was the mature one, and had taken Lin on the side. She saw how she was always tenses, frustrated. From the lonely and silent kid, she became the loud mouth and the tough type. She wasn't soft anymore. She wasn't just a teenager like hers. She was cold and empty inside. Something bothered her and she knew Toph, even if she noticed it, would not have talk about it. She had always been hard to talk to. There was rare times were Katara had seen the real Toph. Lin had rarely her mother tender. She had seen her like a Chief of police and nothing else. Lin knew her mother had a soft spot from now and then but she felt there was too few of them.

Katara talked to Lin tried to explain how Toph's childhood was a mess and how her parents had been hard on her. That's why Lin had so much freedom and so had Suyin. The waterbender tried to excuse her old friend. And she tried to show Lin how Toph was soft very deep inside. She just had to find the way to access that part of her heart.

But Lin didn't care. She didn't want freedom; she wanted a mom, a dad. She felt like she had none. And she was sick of everyone trying to defend her mother, to excuse her. There was nothing to excuse. It was just unfair how Katara's kid had their parents so close. Even with their schedules, they always found time to eat supper together.

''Enough. Stop protecting my mom. She doesn't deserve it.''

Katara stayed silent. Tears flowing down. She felt so much pain for Lin. How a little girl like her had become so cold.

''And don't pity me. ''

Yes she was cold and didn't let anybody in, like her mom.

From that day on, Lin stopped going to Air Temple Island so often. She didn't want to see Katara or anybody else. She didn't want their pity. It was for the weak and she was as tough as it could be.

.

The day Lin arrested her sister was the worst day of the dysfunctional family. Lin had done the right thing from her point of view. She didn't think Suyin merited a second chance; Lin had let her plenty of opportunities to stop seeing to idiots. Suyin hated her sister for the betrayal. They were blood and she had still put her work first, to impress mom. As for Toph, she felt great pain for both of them. She was frustrated. Both of them acted like kids and she had to pick up the mess, like always.

The family wasn't going to be the same.

Suyin was sent away to the boring grandparents while Lin remained behind. Toph destroyed the report Lin wrote and the two women never spoke of the incident ever. Toph was eaten by remorse. She was the chief of police and she had cover up a Terra Triad operation for her own kin. Hopefully nobody would learn it and Lin was going to shut her mouth.

Things got by as time did. Lin move out of her mother's apartment, feeling both bad and relieved. Her mother was going to be lonely in the apartment. Who was going to read her letters, her reports even? But Lin was at the point where she needed to be out of her mom shadow. She had felt too much conflicted in the house to feel safe and happy in it anymore.

Happiness was not going to be found elsewhere but at least, far from her mom, she would be able to let her anger out. She saw her mom every day at her job. There were no more «hi mom». It was always going to be «chief» and it would be until Toph disappearance into the wild.

Lin learned later that being hard and cold was Toph way to show affection. But she would learn it too late. The damage was done nonetheless. And it took her all her willpower to not hate her own mom.

.

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><p>.<p>

What the next topic you want me to tackle? R&R.


	9. The Aftermath - Lin and Toph

Toph picked up Lin as usual when she worked late. Lin was used to it. Every now and then, whe n the night was dard, some air acolyte or one of the adult came to pick her up, explaining that Toph ahd to do extra work, sight, again.

But today was special. Lin sensed it. Every adult on the island was worried. The kids wondered what was wrong. Even Aang wasn't home.

Of course the adults put two plus two together and knew something must have happen during the trial. They hadn't heard of Sokka either. All the adults told half-true to the kids that asked where Aang was. Their discussions were ushed as soon as the kids were around. The night was going to be long.

Lin didn't bother. She was used to her mom no showing herself until late in the night, her uniform still dirty from some fight. She wasn't even worried, as Bumi of Kya seemed very nervous. They weren't used to the absence of dad at this time of the night. They had supper without him. Usually, they waited for him. He would tell funny stuff about his day, reserving the worries for later, with Katara.

But not today.

The evening was rely late when finally Toph showed up. She wasn't in her uniform which stood out for Lin. She was wearing in some casual shirt that Lin had never known her mom owned. Well she was still too young to open the doors of the closet so that explained part of it.

"Mom!" she said. "You're here."

"Of course I here am kid, where else should I be? Give us a minute, I need to talk to Katara and Aang." What a reassuring mother.

And so, Lin lean against the wall. Just beside the door. Maybe she could eavesdrop. She tried to pay attention to their conversation put they talked to low. They were murmuring. Lin gave up and sat instead. Her mom didn't tell her how much time the talk was going to take and seeing Aang's and Katara's expressions, she knew it could take a while.

...

"Katara, I'm all right." Aang said. He just told her what had happened during Yakone's trial and how he had put an end to it.

"Everything will be just fine. And Sokka is well too. He went to his apartment, Suki is in the city. So she will take care of him."

Toph didn't say much. Aang had said pretty much everything there was to say. Yakone wasn't a problem anymore and the old gang had helped. Hurray. Katara was quiet and was standing still for a couple of seconds. Seeing how she looked at Toph, she was about to give some healer's advices.

"Are you sure you're alright to take Lin tonight. She can sleepover if you need time to rest."

"I'm fine Katara."

But Katara knew Toph had toughened up with time. She didn't ask for healing even if she needed it. She didn't' ask for help in general. She was caring her own weight, and Lin's. And with the years, it had become worst. So Katara didn't push her luck, but she stayed alert. Maybe toph would give herself away before the end of the night.

They ended their talk and went to fetch Lin. They found her half asleep the wall.

She bowed to pick her daughter and go home. She winced in the process. Ever so slightly Lin didn't' see it. But Katara did.

"I knew you were lying to me. Aang take Lin for two seconds. And Toph let check this imaginary injury of yours."

Lin was confused. She looked at her mom. She was paler than usual. Her posture was different. Her voice was too. It sounded tired, more than usual. And when she moved, she put her hand on the wall, to follow it, liked real blind people.

"Are you ok?"

"Of course. Kiddo. You know your mom is hard as rock." Witty comment. Lin hated them.

She knew her mom was lying to her and even Katara did. Why didn't her mom tell her she was sick? Was it because she thought Lin couldn't handle it? Or was she a burden to her mom? How could her mom think she wasn't able to help her?

...

In Aang arms, she was carried out of her mother sight. Adults thought she was useless. She stared to cry softly. She felt sad. And lonely. Why did they push her away like that.

Aang saw the small child crying in his arms. He comforted her a bit and dropped her on the grass so they could talk. Aang had always impressed Lin. He was the Avatar. And it annoyed Toph. She always said how he wasn't as cool as her.

"Lin, what's on your mind?" His words came like a balm on her heart.

"You all think I can't take care of mom." She was so young; she didn't understood things like they did. They didn't think she was unable of something. They just knew how Toph like her pride. And she wasn't going to give in to Katara's words if Lin was close. She didn't show her weaknesses to her daughter. She was like steel.

"Dear, we know you will take great care of your mom once you're at home. But first, Katara needs to mend a couple of scratches. She is a Healer. Don't worry, you will have your mom soon enough. And you know how she is, nothing stops her."

...

"Toph, come on, let me have a look at you. I can see you're in pain not seeing well. And you're an awful liar by the way".

The earthbender forfeited. She knew Katara would bother her until she did have a look at her shoulder or she died. Either way, it was annoying her. And she did wanted her seismic sense to be back on track.

Without another world she took off her shirt, keeping a black ordinary tank top, she wore under it.

"Toph, what happened?!"

"Aang just told you. We got bloodbended."

"No, I mean look at your shoulder."

"Argh, I'm blind! What's wrong with you people."

"It's all purple or red, or yellow. Well, it's swollen."

Toph heard sound of water being moved around.

"I'm going to do what I can but don't expect to have 100% agility with it tomorrow."

Without another word, the waterbender used her powers to heal the woman in front of her. The colors of her skins disappeared. And Toph sighed. With another moved from Katara, her seismic sense came back close to normal. At least she could see her way around the walls and obstacles.

"Thanks Katara."

And Katara took her thanks. It meant a lot coming from her old friend.

"It's awful. Being bloodbent, I mean."

Katara had once again succeeded in having confessions from the bender. Like water shaped rock with a lot of patience, she knew her ways by now to her friend's heart. Toph didn't like to talk about her emotions and the revelations she shared were the closest thing she could have.

"You can't do a thing. You just wait for it to end. There's no fighting. And I couldn't see what he was doing. It was all dark. I'm glad Aang ended things the way he did."

"It's an awful power to hold too, Toph" she answered back, referring to their old adventures. She knew Toph didn't' want to be pitied. So she replied what seemed logical.

"It's not something I want to do again in my life."

"And it's not something I want to feel again in my life."

The conversation ended there but Katara knew she had reached her goal.

...

"Right on time", Aang thought. The ladies were back. Toph had regained some composure and seemed a little more relaxed.

"Didn't I tell you, it wouldn't be long?" He said.

It amazed Katara and Aang to see Lin so closed to Toph. Never in a life time would they have imagined her to be a mother. But she was better then what they feared. She wasn't there much. But when she was, she wasn't bad, not even close. She did love her daughter. And she did take care of her. Just not in the usual motherly instinct way.

"Come on Lin, we're going home. It's late and I' tired."

And she picked her up. She was so small; it didn't take any effort for the Chief of police to hold her. Her shoulder was better, still stiff but it moved without too much pain.

...

At home, Lin stayed in her mom's line of sight. Toph could sense it even with her seismic sense a bit blurred from the day.

"Yes? Why are you looking at me like I'm some kind of weirdo?"

"Are you ok mom?" Lin asked. Her voice was shaky and Toph could hear the fear in it.

"Yes, Lin. Katara patched me up. Good as new. See." She moved her soulder to prove it. Lin was still silent. She was sceptical.

"I'm just tired kiddo. I got a big day at work and some bad guy put on a fight but Aang and I got him arrester. Nothing to worry."

And in a rare moment, for Toph, she let her daughter see a part of her she kept awayr. She let her see the tired mom, she was, the hurt woman she was.

"Look Lin, it's going to be alright. In a couple of days, it will have healed." She paused. She could feel her daughter's concerned look on her.

"Come on now. Come and sleep in my bed. I want to feel you close."

Her mom never allowed her to sleep in her bed. She liked her space and her tranquility. She had made it clear very early on. She must have been very sick to let her daughter cuddle up with her. She took her opportunities and Toph didn't have to ask twice. It took half a second for Lin to be ready for bed, teeth brushed.

"You'll see mom, I'll be the best healer!" She was proud to be there for her mom.

"I don't doubt it." Yes, Toph smiled inside. She was glad Lin was there, she wouldn't be alone in the dark.

Lin slept in her mother's – unharmed – arm and Toph went to sleep to the sound of Lin's heartbeat. It was a rare and precious moment daughter and mother shared. It was a unique one even. In all her young years, it was the first time Lin saw her mom being so human.

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><p>What's next? R&amp;R<p> 


	10. Nightmares - Toph, Lin, Suyin

_Even heroes have nightmares and PTSD ._

* * *

><p>The night was late. The clouds were dark and a storm was coming. The citizens of the new founded city were all sleeping, except for the few light sleepers. Some tea shops were still open but most of them were long closed.<p>

The rain started, making small "thuds" against the roof of the buildings. It was calming. But soon, thunder came and the smooth sound became a raging noise against the windows of the small apartment the three ladies shared. The Beifong were all asleep. Except one.

Lin slept in a separate room. Her mother was adamant. She was old enough to be in her own bedroom. She was scared at first, alone in that big room, but mom said she was going to get used to it. Like everything else. And so, Lin did. With time, the room became her own and she felt safe.

The thunder was approaching and lighting lit the sky. Lin was scared. The shadows followed the lightings, growing and shrinking. Lin knew better then to wake her mother up in the middle of the night for "some storm" and so, she stayed in her bed. She would get used to this fear too. She pulled her sheets over her head and waited for the storm to pass. Eventually, it didn't work, so she went under her bed. There she felt safe.

Suyin was three years old. She slept in her tiny bed next to Lin's bed. She was fast asleep. That kid was always sleeping, like a rock. And nothing in the world woke her up. Lin, who cared for her sister most of the time, needed all her efforts to wake her up. So, Su didn't notice at all her sister or the event to come. It was Lin who'd woke her up later that same night.

Toph was in the other room. She didn't hear the thunder or perceive poor Lin shaking in her bed. She was somewhere else. Her dreams were deep and they didn't all too enjoyable. In fact, it was a nightmare.

The thunder had transformed her normal dream into the battlefield from twenty something years ago.

…

She was hanging in the emptiness. The only thing she saw was Sokka, holding her. She had to guess what was happening for her feet were dangling in the air. Sokka had just put out two guys. Boomerang was gone and his space sword presumably thrown at the other guy who grunted. Her hand was sweaty and she was losing her grip. Sokka was stronger and holding on was easier for him. But at some point he too, started to lose his strength. There was so much he could do to save them both.

"Bye, space sword."

Under her, there were occasional explosions and she could hear the metal being torn apart as the ships crashed into each other. She could feel the heat from the fire. The Fire Lord was burning everything on his way up to the earth kingdom.

Toph heard movement of the deck not five feet away from their position.

She couldn't feel her hand anymore; the blood had rushed out of it as Sokka hand grasped her wrist with determination. He wasn't going to let go. Her hand numb, she didn't see anymore. She knew she was still holding on but for how long.

"I don't think boomerang's coming back Toph, it looks like this is the end" said Sokka.

She let tears go. It was the end. She was twelve years old, had teach the Avatar and fought alongside his group. She had accomplished her destiny. But still.

She felt sacred. Real scared. For one of those few moments, she admitted, even to herself, how helpless she was. She wasn't pulling her own weight, far from it. She was a burden to Sokka. He had protected her on their entire mission since she couldn't see outside the ship they were on.

Sokka had always been the only one she allowed to help her with her disability. He was the one that carried her when her feet got burned by Zuko. Even now, he was the one that shielded her from the metal scraps falling from the sky. Even though she knew Suki and him were a thing, she couldn't denied her feelings for him. He saw her as a sister and protected her as such, but she saw him like something more. She didn't tell him because she didn't want to mess with his relationship. She put a strong façade for both their happiness.

As the end came near, she felt her meteorite bracelet shiver on her arm. Yes she was feeling very emotional and it was legitimate.

Sokka let go of his grip as he cheered, not telling Toph they were saved. _Idiot_. From her point of view, they were falling to their doom. She didn't know Suki was just under them with her own ship.

…

And with that she woke up. The thunder made her jumpy and as a reflex, she bended the earth under her. The floor of the apartment started to roar. She was half-asleep, scared and about to destroy a building because of some stupid dream.

It was Lin's screams that really woke her up. She put her foot on the ground to fell were the kids were and why her oldest had shouted. She was startled. The floor was a mess. There was a fissure in front of her bed and she was cover in cool sweat.

"It was just a stupid dream." She murmured to herself. She was a fool, so scaredy-cat for some thunder.

"Mom! Mom! There's an earthquake!" Lin yield from across her room. She was so afraid. She was unable to move. She was curled up under her bed, with Suyin, to keep her young sister safe.

Toph stood up; she made her way to her daughter's room.

"It's just me, Lin. I earthbended. Go back to sleep girls." She wasn't good at that kind of speech. Lin didn't get out from under her hiding place.

"Are you sure, it was pretty strong." Said young Suyin.

"Silly question, kiddo. I'm the strongest earthbender. Get out of there, it no place for kids to sleep."

Lin saw her mom, she was tensed. It didn't reassure her. Suyin stayed silently, no sure of what was happening. The toddler was confuse, not scared.

Lin did as asked because she knew her mom's character. She sat on her bed and help Su do the same. She was still confused and Toph could feel she was still frightened.

Toph's heart was pounding in her ears. It didn't show because of the darkness, but nevertheless, her dream had shaken some old fears and memories. The thunder was growing louder and louder and its sound brought echoes and "images" of her past to her sleepy mind. It kept coming to her mind. She wasn't going back to sleep tonight. She even had an anxious look.

"Mom, are you alright?" said Lin. She pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Mom isn't late to practice your bending. It's the middle of the night." Su was still so young.

"Yes pipsqueak. It is."

"Did you have a nightmare?" said innocent Su.

_Yes, she did have a nightmare._ But she was going to tell her 3 years old girl about some battles scares. Every now and then, she had that nightmare. It was haunting her. And when she thought she got rid of it, it came back, lurking in the shadows of her past. She hadn't told Katara or the rest of the group about it. They had all nightmares. It was the burden of being heroes. She wasn't going to bother them with hers.

"Yeah, I did" she admitted. There was no use to lying.

"Would like me to read you a story, that's what parents do when kids have nightmares." Lin didn't even ask what it was about. She just jumped on the occasion and helped her mom feel better.

Toph didn't read stories to her kids nor did she tell stories at all to comfort them. It was all about her presence that helped Lin and Su. She was always confident. Lin was so different in many ways from her. She was more sensitive than her. It baffled her, and sometime, she asked herself from whom was she taking it. She didn't take offense to her comment about other parents. She already had explained to Lin and Su that she was blind and that even if she got around without help, she was _still_ blind.

"Yeah, sure, let hear it."

And Lin started to read some newspaper's article about the city's hero of the day, "Toph Beifong, Chief of Police and the arrest of the Red Monsoon triad's leader". Toph smiled in the dim light Lin had lit to read and it didn't go unnoticed.

The all sat in Lin's bed. One girl on each side of her, Toph listened. She didn't really pay attention to what her daughter was reading. Someone had read it for her during the day. She listened to her voice instead and let it carry her into a peaceful place. The storm passed and Toph finally relaxed. Only the rain remained. She moved carefully not to wake up her girls and went back to her room. The light stayed on because Toph didn't think about that kind of things.

In her room, she bended slowly the floor back to normal and went back to sleep. She closed her eyes and had a quiet night.

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><p>R&amp;R<p> 


	11. Pain - Toph

The desert was vast. It was dry. It was grainy. It was annoying. There was sand everywhere. Shoes, hair, others places. And there was no avoiding it. Plus, the blind girl couldn't see a thing.

On Appa, they searched for the Wan-chi Tong's Library. How could Snoozle pick such a bad place for mini-vacations? He wasn't the book type. It would have been surprise from Aang or Katara, but Sokka. Books. Of all the places, he had to choose the most boring place on earth. Oh well, she had to follow.

Once there, while they went inside the library, Toph was stuck with bison-sitting. Great, heat, animal-sitting, waiting and more waiting and fuzzy-vision. Awesome vacation capitain boomerang. She was going to pick a vacation so awful for him he would plea for his salvation.

While she was planning her evil vacations and petting Appa, something shifted in the sand. She couldn't make sense of what was happening until she touched the wall of the sink tower. She immediately put all her efforts to save her friends. The Library was going to be buried, and fast. She was a small girl, she couldn't stop it from sinking, but she could at least slow it disappearance.

She bended the wall she touched and the sand under her feet. Quick, they had to get out. What were they waiting for. If they died, she was alone in a desert where she couldn't see. The portrait wasn't pretty for her. And chances were, she wasn't going to get out of there on her own.

And then, when it couldn't get any worse, worse happened. Sandbenders. They ambushed her. All she heard was Appa's growl. No, Aang was counting on her to look after it.

She failed. She failed her first friend. She had tried everything in her power to save Appa, but she had to face the facts, she wasn't much help where she couldn't see. She was useless. She was helpless. She was what her parents kept telling her all her childhood. Boy, it hurt to even think that they were right.

She threw sand in the bender's direction, but she knew, it was in vain, she missed. In fact, she couldn't aim. Plus, she had to keep that building from vanishing. There was too much going on and she had to decide wich one she was focusing on. The sandbenders were a lost fight. Still she hated herself for let them take Appa. There really wasn't anything to do for him, for now. But as she heard a last growl before it was to far, she swore to herself, she would do anything to find Appa back. She focused her strength on the library. Tears flowing down on her cheeks.

The decision tore her heart.

When they got out, Katara and Sokka were joyful. They found something in there. But all she could hear was her crying. The pain she felt. She felt hers, but she felt Aang apprehended look. He understood as soon as he had gone out.

Even without seeing, she could tell, he was looking at her. He was looking at where Appa used to stand. And he was worried. And too soon, he asked Toph, Where his Bison was. And all she could say is that he was gone. He was gone and she had done nothing to help.

She cried softly. She just felt guilty. People thought she was tough as nails and it was true. She was a wall when it came to fighting and day-to-day business. But when it came to her friends, she was softer, she cared. Pride aside.

And now, as Aang felt angry at her and grief for his lost of his old friend, she had no witty comment or sarcasm to yell. In fact, she had no word to say how sorry she was. And Aang remained angry. He said awful things to her. Katara protected her, said Toph had done all she could. But the truth was, Toph secretly agreed with Aang.

She felt remorse more than ever. And even as Aang got ok with the situation and Katara helped him, she was still waiting for the day she could fulfil her secret promise to her friend.

_Finding Appa._


	12. Wounded - Lin

What Lin was up to while Korra ran in the wild of the South Pole, meeting Aang?

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Lin lost her bending. It was painful. It was a hole in her world. She tried to stay strong. To show no weakness. But it was hard. All her life, she had been taught bending. She had been taught the ways of the earth. With her mom.

Her apartment was a mess from the eve. It was only yesterday she lost her bending, but it felt like years. She was so disconnected. She had to find balance again. She felt like a kid again. That night when her mom had that nightmare. She had bended the floor and it had woken her up. That night she saw her mom's weakness first one of the rare times.

She felt like her mom probably felt. She was entering the void. Nothingness. She could not feel the earth anymore. She could not feel the vibrations. The darkness was swallowing her and it scared her.

Instead of cleaning her messy apartment and mourning her fate, she got up. She was strong, she was going to bounce back this one as well. It might take years to figure a way to do it, but she would not pity herself. She had never been the whining type and now wasn't the time to start.

She pick her trench coat. She side-glanced at her armor thrown against the wall, the hole in the wall was huge. She wasn't going to stare at it for the next three years. Looking at her police uniform wasn't going to help her. And she was gone.

She knew where she was going. She always went back to Katara when her heart was full since her mother was so mediocre with words and feelings. Katara had always been there. Even in her teenager's years. She had something said awful things to the Healer, but she had always been patient. She was one of the few good influences in Lin's childhood. She was caring, she was patient, and she explained to Lin how life worked. She was the mother figure in her life, Toph was her protector and mentor, but she wasn't her confident. Katara was. And today more than any other day, she needed to let steam out.

When she was pissed off, she usually bend rock in some abandon mines near Republic city. Some Times badgermoles would pass by to say hello. And she continued her roaming, throwing rocks here and there. It helped deal with frustration. Las night, she had done something close to it, but just throwing her belonging against a wall wasn't enough to let her anger and sadness go.

She was on her way to the train. The South Pole wasn't exactly "next corner to your left" type of place. From the train station she'd take a boat. And she would at Katara's by the end of the week. But her voyage took less time than anticipated.

In the sky, she saw Oogie, Tenzin's bison. What was he doing in here? Korra had been cursed by Amon too; he was supposed to be with Korra, at the South Pole. She needed to see Katara.

Tenzin got off Oogie's back and nod at Lin.

"Need a ride?"

So, he had stop by to pick her up. Maybe he still knew her, after all these years. He had seen her many times at their home, when they all lived at Air Temple Island. But his mom moved back to her home when passed away. Now it was time for his son, Tenzin, to be there for his old friend.

"Look, I know this is difficult, but I'm here. We all are, Lin."

He didn't press further, he knew Lin didn't like to be taken care of or pitied. She climbed the Bison side and soon, she was sitting next to the younger generation. The brothers were there, Miss Sato too. And the Avatar. While they were all hanging near Tenzin at the front of the saddle, Korra was behind, alone. They left her in her thoughts. She wanted to be. And the respected her untold demand.

Lin sat between the teenagers and Korra. She didn't want to be bother either. So she figured out that no being with either was the best solution. She saw Tenzin looking at her once or twice during the journey to the South Pole. He had a worried look. They all had. The young were concerned for their friend and Tenzin for his old friend. Tenzin was right; Lin and Korra shared the same kind of spirit. They both didn't really want to talk about what had happened.

They finally arrived. Lin was glad the Airbender had made the detour to take her with them. She wouldn't have managed to keeps her thoughts at peace for a week of travel.

They entered the small clinic Katara managed. They were people here and there. They all looked surprise to see the Avatar, Tenzin and Lin in there - well, they were famous because of their parents and lineage. She took everyone to her home. She had a healing room there too. For her family, and for their friends. She took Korra first.

She gave a look at Lin. She would have time for her later and knew Lin understood her priorities. She had always been the protective type, even under her hard features.

It took a while before Katara and Korra came back with bad news. When Katara said she was unable to restore Korra's bending, Lin couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"But you're the best healer in the world, you have to keep trying"

"It's going to be alright Korra" said Tenzin in a fatherly-way.

"No, it's not." It wasn't an affirmation, it was a defeat.

And the Avatar was gone with the wind. The young firebender fold her footsteps.

They all went silent. Lin couldn't take it, the inner pressure was just too much to hold.

"I'm going outside" without another word, she passed the doors. The air was chilling put it helped keep her head straight. Clear her thoughts a bit.

The last days had been hard. She had felt sorrow, lost, pain, sadness. But she had felt hope when she saw Katara. But now, it was all gone, for good. She leaned against the wall of a big igloo and got loft in her thoughts.

"Maybe you should put something on. It's cold in here" said a familiar voice.

She didn't felt like talking. She was so deep in her tangled emotions.

"I know you're upset and I know you know I've tried everything."

There wasn't much to be said to be honest. Katara knew Lin was like Toph on that point. She was going to talk when she was ready. No one was going to successfully make her talk.

"But I want you to know, I'm there. I've always been."

_Yes, you have. _

"Maybe we should talk somewhere calm. My old bones are not use to the cold as much as they were when I was your age."

_True, again. _

The chief of police didn't say a word and followed Katara to her home. Everyone was waiting. She entered and still stayed silent. Katara invented her to her healer room. Not to be treated, no. Just to have a warm presence by her side instead of getting lost, again in her mind.

In the small room, there was a small healer pond. It was bright blue. Lin found it peaceful. She sat by Katara. The old lady just put a hand on her shoulder. There was nothing to say to the woman who had lost everything to save her son, her family. Katara was grateful Lin had been there. She had stood her ground and paid the price for her courage, for her sacrifice.

And Katara couldn't give back what she had lost to save Tenzin. She felt sorry for her. But she had learnt very fast to not underestimate the ability of the Beifong to bounce back. Lin would figure out what to do next. She was Toph's daughter. She knew how to be strong and move on.

Lin appreciated the moment of silence they shared. She didn't ask if she was alright, didn't way some good advice she had heard all day. She was just there. And it was enough for Lin. Their little calming moment came to an end when the Avatar came back to the Healer, she had found her bending back. And she knew how to give it back to Lin as well. Great news.

And so, Korra gave Lin her life back. She reconnected with the earth and moved the boulders, relieve that episode was over. She was back on her feet. Ready to fight of crime, once again. Until another battle scar.


	13. The Bracelet - Toph

**The Bracelet – Toph**

"Be a better man than your father"

_Homer's Iliad, Book VI_

In time of great emotions, she played with it. When she was bored, she metalbended it. She had to feel it under her uniform sleeve. It was a part of her.

And soon, he'd be part of someone else. At one point she knew, her daughters would inherit it. It was just the course of things.

.

…

.

Toph hold the bracelet in her hand. It was her greatest treasure. Sokka never knew about her feelings. And she never felt the need to talk about it. He was with Suki anyway, so it was a loss of both their time. But in her heart, when Sokka had given him that small rock, it meant the world to her 12 years old self. Her first gift from him. She cherished it. And to show how important it was to her, she used it as a jewel. All the gang saw it like a confession of love, except Sokka because he was so... Sokka.

No one ever mentioned it to Toph because they knew, in the way she acted, that it was a touchy subject for her. And they respected her untold wishes.

And in time it came in handy. It was with the object that she found her first students. It was with it that she created her dojo. And like an irony, it was Sokka who helped her with that crazy idea of hers.

She held it with a lot of passion.

.

…

.

Young, Lin always loved when her mom did magic. She was too young to understand bending. She was too young to speak even. But when she was crying so loud her mom's eardrums were almost bleeding, she always found comfort in the cold rock.

Toph had discovered it, one night. Her Lin wasn't feeling well, and the Chief needed her sleep. Tomorrow, she had a big day, like every other day, but still. She had a big day. And even if all she wanted was to bend her daughter in a rock cocoon so she'd be able to sleep, she didn't do it. Katara would be mad and social services would surely make her loses her daughter. Her father would be happy to take her, of course.

Well as she nodded to herself, to acknowledge that her plan was a crappy one, she took Lin in her hand and started to rock her. After what seemed hours, Lin wasn't asleep. Toph was doomed. When you were a mother, sleeping was for the weak. She was sleep deprived. She was tired, single mom and working. Tonight, she didn't want to deal with Lin's crying.

She put her daughter back to bed. She let her cry her heart out. Maybe she would cry herself to bed and be so tired, she would go to sleep. That didn't work either.

''Arg, what do you want, I changed your diaper, tuck you in bed, gave you food. There isn't much more I can think of. ''

She felt her Meteor Bracelet shiver. She was so exhausted she couldn't tell if she was the one doing it. After all she was super-emotional. She was super-pissed off to be awake at 4 am. It bothered her. Everything at this point bothered her. Air was annoying. The outsides sounds were too loud. It wasn't hard to picture it.

She took it off, so that at least the shivering wasn't in her way. But at she bended the metal, small Lin started to giggle. No more tears. She didn't anticipate that move from her mom, so she was amazed. Toph seize her chance and started to do goofy forms with it.

''Yes! Finally something to calm her.''

She bended in a way she would not suffocate if she chewed it. And left the bracelet to her daughter. The small todler put it to her mouth and started to try to make like her mom, move it into other shapes. It didn't move. But she was doing like her mom, and so she was happy.

.

…

.

When Lin was older, she still liked when her mom played with her bracelet. She was amazing and could do such brilliant things. She did shapes Lin would never had think of. Being blind wasn't always a handicap.

One day, Lin asked ''Mom, will you give me your bracelet, it's so pretty, there's none like this at the market''.

Of course there wasn't a Meteor bracelet around the corner.

Toph made it look like she was thinking about the question. But she didn't want to give it. To any one

''When you can make me sit, maybe then.''

Lin raised an eyebrow. ''Sit?''

''Yes, when we do some training and fighting, if you can make me sit, I'll let it to then. Not before.''

From then on, Lin showed more vivacity in her training. She had a goal. She did want to impress her mom, but in her 7 years old head, what really motivated her was the bracelet.

And time passed.

.

…

.

Lin and Suyin were fighting for the Bracelet now and then, teased each other saying they would make their mom sit first. It was just sister's competition. Nothing to serious.

But one day, the secretly agreed to fight together and to fight one another afterward to get ownership. But first, the untold alliance between the two sisters who hated each other.

They went all-in in the fight. Their mom wasn't young anymore. But she wasn't rusty either. She was the greatest earthbender and inventor of metalbending. And she wasn't the type to level to her students. The Beifong sisters had to earned the Bracelet.

While Lin attacked from the front, in the line of sight of their mom, Su went rogue and backstabbed her. Well, no really since it wasn't a death match. But you get the idea. Toph wasn't easily caught of guards so the sisters used a cunning strategy. One distracted her mother while the other went all sneaky. Less honorable, but Toph had not said it was forbidden in their matches.

Lin faked to be injured, hit by a rock in the guts. She fell to the ground and started to fake her pain. Her mom didn't buy it at first, but Lin put all her efforts in it and soon even Toph was fooled. She approached Lin carelessly to make sure she wasn't really dying. It would look bad: Chief of police and careless mother. And by the time she was near Lin, she knelt beside her and made a move to shift her body so she could see if she was bleeding and stuff.

Suyin came in, without bending and simply knocked her mom down. And that was it.

''We won'' said Lin. Suddenly she wasn't in pain and dying. She was as alive as she could. Both sisters were arms in arms with a devious look. They had done it after 2 years.

''Well, technically, you didn't force me to sit, I sat by myself, and so you don't win anything.''

''Oh just admit it, we fooled you. We were wittier and smarter.''

''Yes mom, admit it, we can't beat by being fair. You are the Master.'' Yes Suyin did flatter her mom's ego to score another point.

''Land the bracelet.'' said both girls ecstatic.

Toph laughed. ''That's my girls, cunning and brilliant''.

She took it off. She mentally said a lasdt goodbye to it. And gave it to the girls. When she thought they would fight like crazy to have it for themselves, Lin separated in three equal parts the Meteor and kept on third of it. Leaving the two other pieces to her mom and her half-sister. She was a better woman than her mom.

_Yes that was her girls._


	14. Blind - Toph and Lin

_I read a lot of ff. And it bugged me to see Toph depicted so tough. Sure she is hard a rock and solid as steel when facing to enemy, a danger, strangers, even. But when it comes to family and friends, she is much softer. Watching the episodes there is plenty of time she confesses about her fears, her feelings or she cried because of legitimate emotions. So I wanted to give it a try and show the character's kindness._

_I tried to imagine what it's like for blind parents with children who have a healthty sight sense. Hope I managed to get a good picture. _

…

When she was pregnant, she wasn't sure she was going to be a good mother. After all, she was reckless, liked her dangerous job and was 100% into it. She wasn't going to stop with _it_ coming soon. In fact, she didn't change anything to her lifestyle, much to Katara's disbelief. It was Katara who saw to Toph's health through her pregnancy. Toph didn't deal with any of it at first. She was in denial and she wanted the problem gone. But she knew at the same time, that this wasn't something she could just push away and ignore. It wasn't one of these times she could run away and change her life upside down to feel better.

She had to face it, head on, like Earthbending. It was Katara with her gentle words, as usual, who succeeded in making Toph think about her child to come seriously. Of course Katara had to make more than one attempts to succeed but she didn't let go. Like water crashes on rock, the two confronted one another for the first three months. Until _it _began to show. At this point Katara had successfully reach her goal. She had smoothen the rock and defenses of Toph. Much like water shaped rock, rivers. Corrosion needed patience and time as did Toph.

But when her belly started to show, it was unavoidable. She was pregnant and she was going to have a kid. And so one morning she went to Air Temple Island and knocked on her friend's door. She was off duty today and she was dressed like so. No uniform. She wore a simple sweater and a comfy pant. Nothing too fancy.

The Healer was surprise at first to see her blind friend there but she quickly invited her inside. After so many tries, she had done it; Toph was here all by herself.

"So, right to business, what now?" said the metalbender. Good old Toph, whe wasn't going to talk about the weather. _Straight forward_.

Katara refrained from making fun of her, she was going to call her names and leave without a proper healer consultation. _Pride._

"Well, now, we have to make sure you are healthy. That is the first step. Then I will help you get to the next step, first things first, how are you? About _it_ I mean."

"Honestly, I don't know." _Silence. _

"I suppose I'm a bit scared about what's to come. It going to change my life, isn't it?"

"Yes, but in a good way, you'll see."

"About that, Katara, what about the child I carry"

"What do you mean?" said her truly worried friend.

"Will she, he, be blind too?"

_Of course_.

She didn't make it seem like it was a big deal, but being blind was not easy. She made her way around it fairly. But she was genuinely worried. Because of it, she had a difficult childhood. And that create the rift between her and her family.

Katara spoke after thinking it through.

"I don't know, but neither your father nor your mom are blind…But I know one thing for sure, if she is blind, you will teach her everything that kid needs to know. I'm not concern for her."

That ended their discussion that night. Katara took her remaining time with her friend to show her proper foods to eat, or exercises to do, everything she needed know about pregnancy.

Saying childbirth wasn't easy was a euphemism. It took the earthbender all her might to make it alive and Katara was by her side to guide her. It took hours but it finally paid off, the little thing was there. Remembering the concerns Toph had evoked back then, Katara tested the baby's sight. Her eyes were green as her mom's.

Toph heard her cries. That was a good thing, right? She was blind here. There was no bed rock in Katara's healer rooms. She had to rely on her trusty friend. Her baby was away from her, the helpers had to clean her. Katara was really thoughtful. She talked her all the way through. Mentioned every detail about her baby that Toph couldn't sense.

"Well she is small but strong, you can feel it the way she cries, it very lively. She has already couple of black hair. She has green eyes, like you. I can tell she is going to be a great earthbender."

And without a warning, her daughter was in her arms.

"Here. You can tell by yourself. I will leave you now."

And she left. Intimacy was going to let Toph live whatever she had to, in peace and quiet. As she was out, she was bombarded by questions. There might not have been a father but there were two worried friends. Toph was private about her life and she had only invited her closest friends: Sokka and Aang.

….

Toph held her daughter delicately. She was afraid to hurt her and she didn't know how to hold her properly, but as Katara had told her, Mother instinct would kick in and help her out. And it did.

She held her with one arm and put her again her chest. The earthbender was exhausted, but she felt like it was the right time to call it off. She wanted to meet her kid. She used her free hand to feel her skin, it was smooth. She put her hand gently in her face, to figure her features. She was asleep. She could tell by the way her tiny chest she moved slowly. Her heartbeat was calm too.

The baby reacted to Toph's touch. She woke up. She didn't know if she looked at her, but she didn't mind for now. She assumed so.

"Hello" she said to her. "I guess I should give you a name, or else _they _are going to think I'm an awful mother." Her daughter felt silent for a moment, like she listened to her mom's voice and got accustom to it. The baby giggled back. "What about Lin, do you like it?" The baby giggled even more. "Ok, so that's going to be your name. _Lin Beifong_."

…

Her daughter grew up so fast. It astonished her. As soon as she could she got back to work. She found a babysitter. Her friends were busy too. Once in a while one of them would take Lin with them for the afternoon or the night to give Toph a break from it all.

She wasn't there very much, but when she was, she was a good caring mother. As her daughter grew up, she started to move around. Crawling at first. And at some point walking too. Toph was in her shower and had put Lin in a bed made of rock with a lot of soft things in it. This way she could see her daughter even if she didn't. Her kid had softened her. Well, she was softer with her kid than other human beings. Years would change that.

As she about to get out, she felt it. Two little feet on the concrete ground. Wait, wasn't she supposed to be in security in her park?

She got out of her shower at an unbelievable speed, took the nearest towel and when through her apartment, still wet and tried to find Lin. She wasn't in her homemade rocky cradle. Damn. She was panicking. She had to breathe and calm down. She focused her senses to find the little adventurer. Finally, she felt those two feet again on the ground.

She was walking. Toph was witnessing her daughter's first steps. How she had gotten out of her cradle would remain a mystery. But at this very moment, she was proud to be a mom.

"Good job, girl."

….

When Lin started school, Toph got back a normal life, to say so. She would be more present for her daughter. Or she thought. But she often work late and did a lot of overtime.

Lin was a natural at school. It was good thing for Toph because pushed back the reality of it. As soon as Lin started to learn to write and read, Toph knew she wasn't going to be there. To help her with that kind of issue. She had never thought about it before and had always denied having to tell her daughter the truth. Her mother was blind. Since she was moving around without help and could do almost all the thing normal people did, she somehow convinced herself it was going to be necessary to tell her daughter that one essential fact.

Well, it hit her hard. She hadn't thought about it because reading and writing wasn't part of _her _reality, but now, it was. As she did with a lot of problem, she waited to tackle it when it was inevitable.

…

When Lin was old enough, she wanted her mom's help about a homework she didn't understand. Her mom helped her a lot in history, math, even music. But she always got a way around helping her with literature and writing. She always had an excuse. She was busy doing something else or was needed somewhere else. And as always, Toph had an excuse. Lin didn't see it because she had her back turned, but it pained Toph. She just didn't show it.

She was often at Katara's because her mom worked hard and late. She was maybe 6 year old. She asked Katara for help with her homework. Maybe she was going to help her. Katara looked puzzle.

"Yes of course I can help you."

"Great, because mom won't. She always has a good reason. Is it because she isn't good with it and she don't want me to know it?"

_She don't know. _Toph didn't tell her. Katara didn't know what to say at that point. It was her call to make but at the same time she couldn't believe her friend. How could she hide something that important to her kid. Well, in a way, it didn't surprise her. She answer a half-truth.

"Indeed, she isn't good with that kind of stuff. But she does help you with the other subjects?"

"Mom is great in history and knows a lot about Earthbending."

Toph was good in history. Her family gave a great important to knowledge in her own childhood.

"Like you, she is good in some things and less in some others. Right?"

"I guess you're right." said the small girl.

When Toph picked up her daughter that night, the look Katara gave her was startling. If only she saw it. Lin was sleeping on the couch. Toph did sense that her friend's body was tense and the way her shoulder were position and her neck stiff, she was looking right in her eyes with what Toph reconized as _the look_.

"Yes? If you're making a face, I can't see it."

"That's exactly the point. I can't believe you. You haven't told her you're blind?"

"I don't see why I should, see what I did there?"

"Don't turn this into a joke. It isn't. She asked me to help her tonight, Toph. And she couldn't understand why you didn't she asked _me_ why you didn't. _I_ had to lie to her."

Toph stayed silent. Katara had struck a nerve. She saw the doubt in Toph face.

"It's my call, princess. I will decide when and what I tell my kid. You can stop now. We're not teens anymore. I can take care of myself and my daughter just fine."

And she was gone with Lin.

But Katara knew she had hit home with her last comment. Toph didn't care about how she was feeling. But she had great care about her daughter's feelings, even if she didn't show it. It was mother's instincts. Toph would come around her blockage and speak with her Lin, at some point in the near future. And Katara would not hear of it. Even as she watched her go with sleeping Lin in her arms, frustrated, she trusted her judgement. In the end, Toph knew Katara was right, she was just too proud to admit it to her friend. But her daughter wasn't going to pay for it. The waterbender knew that.

…

That night, put Lin in her bed and tucked her in. She caressed her forehead. It was a dilemma to which she knew the answer. It hurt to think about all of it. Stupid eyes.

She breathed in and gathered her courage. She was nervous. She didn't know why. She was afraid? She had never talk about her blindness in a bad way to any living soul. She always put it so it was a good thing. She was better bender because of it, saw thing differently, saw stuff nobody else did.

She admitted to herself only how bad it really was. And to Sokka from time to time. He was her only close confident. But mainly, she just humored the whole situation. So to talk about it like it was a ban or a curse… To admit it out loud made it more real.

Katara was right, she was the time.

She woke up her daughter.

"Mom" she said in a sleepy tone. "It's midnight."

"I know kid, I know. Katara told me you had talk to her."

"Oh" was the only reaction Lin had. She didn't know if she was in trouble or anything.

"You see kid, Mom's blind. I can't see."

"Oh" again.

"I get around fine with earthbending I see through my element. I can see you right there. See the wall, doors. I can see the ants outside also."

"Wow, I want to do that too. Like you."

Toph paused.

"But I can't see _see_. My eyes aren't working. I guess you normal people would say I see only darkness. I was born just like that. That's why – "

"Am I going to be blind too mom?" It was an honest question. And Toph detected Lin was a bit scared about it. _Kids_.

"No, Lin you're not, Katara checked it when you were a baby, you will be just fine. As I was saying, That's why I can't help you with those homework…." Pause. "I can't". Pause. "Read. Or write or draw."

Yes admitting her limits was unpleasant to say the least. She was crying. It hurt that she was not going to be able to help her daughter with normal stuff as stupid as matching clothes. She didn't care for herself. Her friend bought it for her and that was it, but now that she had to care for some else, it wasn't the same. She wasn't able to just toss her thoughts away this time.

"It's ok mom, I'm there now, I'm going to be yours eyes, right?"

"Right." _Right you are._

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me your secret." It was and wasn't a secret.

Toph smiled back to her daughter. She was smiling to, Toph knew because of her body position and how she breathed. She knew her daughter's facial expressions by heart, even if she could see them. She could always tell and was always right.

* * *

><p><em>I tried to imagine what it's like for blind parent with children who have a health sight sense. Hope I managed to get a good picture.<em>

_R&R. _


	15. Beifong Alone - Toph, Lin, Suyin

_All characters get 'alone' chapters. I want to see where the Beifong family is going to lead us._

* * *

><p><strong>Beifong Alone <strong>

Toph had always been alone, from her childhood to meeting Aang. It was a annoying, frustrating childhood. Nothing more. She had no friends. But as time passed, she found friend to accept her and to help her accept her family. Her voyage through the world had sorted that out. Even if the little flying-boar family disagreed on most subjects, Toph still loved them.

As she grew older, she kept seeking solitude. She was a lone wolf and liked it this way. She had gotten accustom to loneliness so young, it became her natural state of mind. So when surrender by peoples, she still found ways to be alone in her mind. Not that she didn't enjoy her friends presence or her colleagues help, she felt better by herself.

When Lin and Suyin came to her life, things changed. She got used to having children with her. She got used to their friends. And they, too, grew older. Suyin was the noisier one. She was always in trouble and thanks the spirits Lin was always not far behind. She was always there for her sister. The school was too much for Suyin. She had not enough space to move, to express her mind. And she liked trouble. And trouble liked her as much. She was always in a fight verbal or physical. She wasn't the kind to remain still while been openly attacked.

One day, she heard people making fun of Lin. They were saying how she was stiff and boring. How she was ordinary. How she acted so like an adult and wasn't convincing. They were mean. Suyin didn't like her sister either but she was her blood, and Toph had taught them that, they had to be there for each other. Suyin had done exactly that. Toph had heard the principle and teachers talked about for an hour in a boring meeting. And she had to fake being furious. But as soon as Su and Toph had gotten out of the school ground, Toph had praise her daughter for standing up. She even had a bruise to prove it.

When they had arrived home, Lin had asked her sister "What kind of trouble did you put yourself in this time?".

Suyin didn't say. She remained silent. She didn't want to tell her sister people were talking behind her back. She thought it hurt less if Suyin pretend she got in trouble for something stupid and Toph had agreed on this one. And they stayed true to their plan. Lin never knew why, this time, her sister had been suspended from school.

When Lin _stabbed_ her half-sister, Suyin really felt disappointed. She had protected her sister from harm she didn't know existed. She made sure nobody made fun of a Beifong. And left Lin alone. Now, she was at the crossroad and her path was written by her mother. She was to never set foot in Republic city ever again. On the way to her grandparent's domain, she realised just how lonely she was. Lin was never going to talk to her. After all, she had committed a crime. Her mother had rejected her. Her friends were far way in a jail somewhere in the Earth Kingdom middle ring. She was just that little rebel she always wanted to be. Yes, bittersweet end.

Lin was the silent kid. She was always reading or walking in the city, lost in her thoughts. She was a lone wolf too. It was partly Toph's fault. The kid grew up without a father and she was always working. So like Toph, she got used to being by herself. Lin inherited the very traits she despised. Because of how she was raised. She was bound to be a solitary and private woman, much like Toph. With few good friends and a promising career. After the disaster the sisters had created, Lin had never been the same with her mother. She was cold, distant. At work, she performed well. She focused all her pain in her work so she didn't have to think about her dysfunctional family. She had betrayed her sister and been betrayed by her mother. Tenzin had been with Pema for a while. The unhealthy relation with her mom was too much to take and Lin found an apartment too and soon. She was alone in the city. The only person who she knew could still relay on was Katara. The mother figure she never had. But right now, she wasn't there in republic city, witnessing the destruction of an entire family. And all their regrets.

No, the three women were all alone on their paths.

Toph headed to her doom, covering up her youngest mistake while struggling to mend her relation with her oldest.

Lin had push away every one she loved and became cold as steel.

Suyin had driven out everyone with her reckless stunts she held dear.

Yes, only Suyin had found happiness in the messy family as for now. She had built a city and had developed technologies far beyond anything existing. She was a mother herself, a matriarch, an artist, a thinker. But in her newfound harmony, she knew that the only thing missing was her sister. And she knew it was never going to happen. Her children would never know their aunt.

Lin had become a bitter wolf looking for its own tail. She was searching for her never happening reconciliation with herself and her family. But the grudge she held was too deep for the her to wolf was chasing forever dreams. Ignoring the solitude, she worked hard. Resolving case after case. She was efficient, nobody could deny it. Tenzin, however, saw how she was driving herself to insanity. He tried once or twice to talk about it with her, but she dismissed him. Figuring building steel walls around her was her way to cope with everything, at some point, he let go. He knew their past relation and its ending was one of the things Lin was trying to ignore in her mind fortress.

Toph had exiled herself from the world, only barely living in it. Though she was happy in the marsh she found, she knew her daughter hadn't found peace yet, and that made her very sad. Contrary to Toph, Lin was holding to the past. Toph was more of a 'let it go' type. As was Suyin. They both had ended their bitterness against each other. Toph had even visited Zaofu. But as Suyin sent letters to Lin, instructed by her mother, she never got an answer back. Lin lingered on the past while everyone else moved forward into the future. It had taken the avatar, a doomsday and a sparring match between them, for Lin to forgive her sister and acknowledge her errors.

And even had Lin reconcile with her mother, she still remained lonely. She liked her space. It was how she was raised. It was in her nature.

In the end, Lin Beifong was the only true lone wolf, but that didn't mean she hadn't found happiness.


	16. Le Repos du Guerrier, Part I - Toph

_I always wondered how Sokka died. And I guess it's the new ''what happened to Zuko's mom'' _

_Here's my take._

* * *

><p><em>But I'm only human<em>

_And I bleed when I fall down_

_I'm only human_

_And I crash and I break down_

_Your words in my head, knives in my heart_

_You build me up and then I fall apart_

_'Cause I'm only human_

_- Christina Perri_

The night was chill. The snow was dancing with the wind and the stars were the only spectators. The air lightly carried the mourning of those who had just lost someone dear.

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That night, Toph was on duty. She was almost alone in the tiny station they had built up from scratches. Her and her friends. They had transform Yu Dao, from colony to capital of the new world. The Harmony movement had seen a lot of opposition but at last, they had succeeded. But as the majority liked it, some were against it to say the least. Toph and her second in command were doing the night shifts in turn. They had one team and it was for most of it, rookies.

She was busy with one of the rookie. He was reading her some reports. She commented them, asked him to write down some stuff form now and then. But that night, no report was completed, no criminal arrested. No, instead, that night, a whole family was destroyed. It came as a shock to her. But she knew something was fishy.

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It was rare to see Aang of Katara or even Suki come by and see her this late at night. As for business, they waited the morning to talk to her. They were sleeping while she was working. But, hey, it was life. And life wasn't always fair, that she learned.

So imagine her surprise when Aang showed up and the station at what must have been 3 am. The Avatar dismissed the young rookie. He was too overwhelmed to meet the Avatar to talk back to him. He just vanished.

"What do you …."But Toph stopped her insult.

As soon as he faced, she knew something was wrong. He had cried moments ago. His breathing was still fast and shallow from it. His voice was different too. It felt like he had just snuffed out. His heart rate was too fast, but it didn't fell like he had just run from his home to here.

"Toph, how don't know how to say it."

"Split it already." She said.

She looked worried. She had a really bad feeling about it. Why in the world wasn't he with his family. She wasn't because she had chosen otherwise. But him….

"It's Sokka, Toph. We don't know. "

"What Sokka?" Her voice didn't sound like it was her own.

"He was going to a Council meeting when he and his group were attacked by rebels. Some anti-harmony triad."

"But can't Katara…"

"She already tried. There is nothing to do, but wait."

"But you're the Avatar, surely some spirits must have something to heal him. Isn't there a moon spirit by the North or South pole?" she remembered them talking about an adventure there.

"You… He's not…"

There is nothing Toph could say after that. She stayed in the station seated on her desk. As if she was still being read the report the rookie was working on. Like Aang hadn't disrupted.

The time had stopped for the two friends. Aang was comforting Toph. She seemed both heartbroken and stoned heart. Her face showed no emotion. But Aang knew inside laid turmoil of the grief and pain. Holding her in his arms, he could feel the meteor bracelet shiver like never before.

"Toph, I'm going back to the Water Tribe, you're welcome to come if you want."

"No, I'll be ok Twinkle toe. I still have to finish that report and Lin's waiting for me back home. The babysitter is…"

"I understand Toph. I'll see you in a while then."

"Keep me in the loop."

"Of course." He nodded.

At some point, Aang had to go back to his family, they had lost their uncle, their brother, their friend. He was needed there.

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And just like that he left her behind. Still sitting on her messy desk. He knew Toph too well to pressure her. She would let her feeling out at some point. Katara had taught him that. Sometime, only time could solve the problem. And in this case, it was especially true. He had just told his friend that her forever lover was in his deathbed.

Working the rest of the night was Toph's way to deal with it. She was probably really working to keep her mind off of it. And she would collapse alone in her tiny apartment while Lin was doing a nap. She was a loner and only Sokka and Katara were able to pierce her heavy defense. As an airbender he had trouble to think like an earthbender and now wasn't the time to try it.

The shift was uneventful thanks the spirits. If a burglary had happened, she might just have destroyed the intruder out of raw emotions. She helped the rookie with his report and after that, she requested to be left alone and undisrupted. For the rest of the night she focused all her energy on Sokka, for him to heal. And she cried softly. There was nothing else to do except wait and hope.

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When to morning shift was there, she did her verbal report to her second in-command and left as if nothing happened. She told him she was taking a leave of absence due to personal motive and until her return in three days, he had the responsibility and control of the city.

As soon has she was out of the building, she rushed home, kicked her babysitter out and she was already out of her apartment, Lin in her arms. She went to Air Temple Island where she knew Aang was waiting for her. He had been kind enough to not rush her. She needed the news to sink in her skull. And forcing it wasn't about to work. When she reached the Island, she sensed Appa and Aang ready to go. He had packed lightly because the Southern Water Tribe was waiting for them.

"The acolytes will take care of Lin and the kids."

He helped Toph climb the bison. She looked like she hadn't slept at all. She was exhausted and worried sick for her friend. She was still in her metal armor.

"You can sleep; I will wake you up when we are there."

She didn't say a word; grab the closest blanket she could find. Yes, maybe when she'd wake up, she would realise it was only just a dream.

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When they arrived, she realised Aang had put boots in her feet. She touched the cold ground and was reminded a cruel fact, it was Sokka that helped her around the snow. It was always Sokka arm's she held whenever she couldn't see. He was always there. And now, she had no one to help her like the other times. Thankfully Aang was sensible enough to take her hand without any comment. He knew how she had always felt about him.

The air was cold. Aang grab the blanket she used on Appa and put it on her shoulder. She looked so frail. Without that proud stature she always had. Now, she was just a regular girl. She wasn't strong. She wasn't unbeatable. Her armor seemed out of place. Like it made the whole thing surreal. The Water tribe had never seen metal bending. They looked at her amazed.

Toph was cold as ice as her armor conducted the cold easily. _Stupid_. She had forgotten to take it off back home. And now with the snow, it would probably rust. It was the last of her worries.

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They finally arrived at Sokka's house where Katara was treating him. As soon as they arrived, Katara burst out of the hut. She was crying. Aang hold her in his strong arms. He hushed two three words of comforts. Katara recognized Toph. She was tangled in a blanket, probably Aang's doing. She hugged her friend tight.

"He's still unconscious. The Spirit water isn't working. I think his time has come."

"Maybe he misses Yue more than he implied. Maybe that's why the water isn't working."

It was wise, sad, but wise.

That was Toph who said that. She said it with a lot of detachment, like she didn't want to believe it herself. But it made sense. If the spirit water from the Northern Tribe didn't work, maybe the water wasn't the problem; maybe there wasn't any problem to begin with.

"Still, it's hard to believe Toph" said Katara.

"I know" she answered quietly.

"Suki is coming too, she will arrive later" Aang added.

They kept watch on Sokka one after the other sleeping in turn, like in the old days. When came Toph's turn, she stepped in the hut. It was hot in there. She took the boots off, it was killing her feet. Aang said sleepy "If there is something are just next door".

She found the chair easily and sat next to her friend. Nobody had described his injuries. Sure, he had been attack by rebels. But it was all she was told. Alone with him, she held his hand.

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_Look at you, looking strong are you now. Captain Boomerang. I told you, I'm tougher than you. _She teased him in her head and she imagined him answering back with some sarcasm. At least half the conversation they had was teasing. They teased each other, they dared each other. They mocked each other. Like pals did, like bros too. Sokka had always seen her that way : a good pal. The other half of the conversations were profound and serious. It was only together that they revealed their true selves. Sentimental with deep and complex emotions. As the world saw both of them like some loonies, they knew that they were both capable of been humble when needed.

He saw her ready to abandon hope. It was Sokka who made her school possible. That night, they talk about really heavy stuff. Her issues were rarely spoken of. So when she shared her thoughts with him, he felt special. Like he was living a once-in-a-life-time moment. And Toph too felt that way when Sokka talked about his sister and how Katara was special to him, both a mother and a sister. Yes, they had their fair share of intimacy. And it was this trust in one another that made their relation special.

Toph had always envy Suki for her place in Sokka's heart. But she knew he'd never seen her as anything else than his best buddy. Sokka could have made Toph say almost anything. She always looked so tough. She showed love weirdly and he just got on with it. Accepted it and with time, looked for her fist to land on his shoulder while she smiled.

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She came back to her senses when she heard his voice.

"Hey Toph" he said weakly.

"Hey Snoozle, 'about time" she replied.

"What's up?"_Ok casual talk will do_ she guessed. Maybe he didn't want to talk about dumb stuff anyway.

"Lin's a nightmare. She started to show Earthbending skills. I think she's about to destroy my house."

"Funny little thing, your Lin."

Sokka had always been there to help with Lin. Katara, Sokka and Aang. They were her family.

"Guess she'll be better at it than you" he teased.

"I told you Sokka, no one's better than me."

"Yeah, you're the _greatest earthbender_" he mocked her and imitated her as he said it.

His voice was slowed by pain and almost inaudible. He was nearly there. She apprehended it. She let a tear pass her guard. He saw it from his bed.

"Hey, Toph don't go soft on me, right?"

"Who's going soft? Look at you, even Momo's better looking."

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The Kyoshi Warrior finally made it. When she passed the hut's gate, she saw Toph. She had fallen asleep in the chair next to Sokka, still holding his hand her head on chest. Since she didn't see, it was her way to tell if something happened. She felt asleep listening to his heart. She didn't want to wake her up, but at the same time, she wanted some time alone with him. So she gently touched the woman's shoulder.

She jumped. She couldn't see so she was a bit less alert to her surroundings. As she grabbed Suki hand, she recognized it. She blushed when she thought about her position.

"You don't need to explain yourself. I understand."

They didn't exchange another look. Toph was gone. It was Suki's turn.

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She went back to Katara and Aang. They were both sleeping in the couch. But Toph couldn't see that. She had never set foot in that house. She couldn't see with the wooden floors. When she passed the door, she let out a "hey guys?" And she heard movement. Katara took her hand without a word and led her to the couch were Aang was, made her some space and all three waited. They were a family and family understood each other. She took her uniform off, revealing a black tank top and a pair of green pant. She sat next to Aang and fell asleep.

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A knock on the door. Suki's sadden voice. Tears. It took two seconds for them to show up. They all hugged one last time. Katara cries were all they could here along with a _sniff_ here and there. And suddenly, it was silent again. Toph tried to hear Sokka's heartbeat, or his breathing, but she couldn't. It was Aang who spoke after what seemed forever.

"He's with _her_."

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Outside, the moon was almost complete. It emitted a pale blue light. Offshore, the waves were enormous. The moon was grieving too.

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_Part II will but up soon and will be about the funeral itself. _


End file.
